Through A Mirror
by Lady Shockbox
Summary: In one universe, Decepticons fight their battles to destroy the evil forces of the Autobots. In another, the concept is similar, although the roles are different. What were to happen if you smashed their realities forcefully together? Slash. G1
1. Prologue: Failure

Oh dear. Exactly what have I gotten myself into _this_ time? Bah. This demon of a ficclet was born after an incident at the Mark Nemesis III forum here on Fanfiction involving dust bunnies, a conversation about "shattered glass," and the general ideas surrounding it. I wanted to take a stab at writing my own version of "shattered glass" Transformers universe afterward, but then the idea to mash their universe _with_ the cannon version intrigued me. I thought it would be a nifty experiment, so I figured I would give it a go and see how things turned out… Transformers is not mine in any shape, fashion, or form. If it was, it would be a frightening place. Concrit is appreciated, as any advice on helping me improve my writing is what keeps me going.

* * *

**And if you cry, I'll hold your head up high**

**I'll be there by your side, I will be your guardian angel**

_Guardian Angel_ _(Music Video Version) _- Lovex

**i**

_Universe A113 B _

And to think the fleshlings of Earth would be so _stupid_…

California's newest and largest solar plant was a major success in energy collecting for the United States of America. The recent energy crisis of 1985 solved, electric bills were dropped and the public whining about conventional electric conveniences - which really were not all that convenient to begin with - became a thing of the past. Needless to say arrangements had been made with other countries around the world to build similar plants to provoke world peace in a sense, and those said arrangements were under way.

Although, considering the rather blunt obvious, said power plant had much more publicity than necessary. And to think they would not notice that they had been setting themselves up for disaster. What a stupid, pitiful species.

California's newest, and largest, solar plant was a major success in energy collecting for the United States of America… or, at least, it used to be. The glossy solar panels were shattered, the buildings that made up the plant were destroyed, and the carnage of his army's raid had been very successful, human bodies lying everywhere along with several of the missing, dismembered parts of his rival's soldiers.

Pathetic.

Gazing down at his newest weapon, he frowned somewhat in minor resentment; his newest toy - a rather deadly nuclear blaster his scientists had made for him - had been disabled somewhat during his scuffle with his personal adversary. Unneeded to say why his anger was trivial: He blasted that bastard right through his chest and hopefully, no, _definitely_ killed him. The blaster could be fixed, but a spark could not be retrieved once extinguished. Even though his rival's army would go to his successor, the whining scum would be too shaken by his leader and _mate's_ demise to focus on his job. Even more so considering the sniveling mech was the one to retrieve his bleeding leader once he blasted his chest open with his cannon.

More so, in shorter terms, he _won_.

Moving his field of vision in achievement, he gazed down where his enemy once lay. Pieces of his opponent were scattered around the pinkish smears of processed energon where he fell heavily to the ground. The same ground of the energy plant he failed to protect. It was pitiful. His rival lunged forward, they wrestled for control, he managed to get the gun out, and he fired. The scream of his foe was still ringing in his audios, although the ring of his mate and second in command's scream also rung with the same satisfaction. Pity their kind was so soft for one another. That was why his army won. Pity and love for others was his enemy's weakness. Compassion was what made his opponents insignificant obsolete.

A glint of silver metal caught his optic sensors suddenly. He turned his head somewhat to see something flicker in the light of the fire raging around him. Taking a step towards it, the ground literally trembled at his feet. His wide and powerful steps made the energon and blood spattered ground around him shake; made it vibrate like the humans when they shook in fear before he slaughtered them. Before he slaughtered the mech that had been his arch rival since the day he came online…

He was standing before it now. It was small compared to his massive hands and frame, although it would have been large to a human. The edges of the metal burnt and smudged, the metal itself dented and uneven as it lay on the ground innocently. It was from his life long enemy, even from before the _Ark_ and _Nemesis_ were launched to search for the precious energy Cybertron desperately needed. Kneeling, he picked it up between two large fingers and lifted it to the level of his optics, glaring at it with the mixed cross of triumph and loathing.

On that single, guiltless fragment of metal was the symbol that recognized every meaning of hope and freedom; the right of all sentient beings. Everything that meant good will and promoted peace for the worlds of the entire universe was stamped on that metal in its thick, bold face. Anything that was against him was there before him within the meaning of that single symbol of belief of liberty. And now that all meant _nothing_. His own troops said he gloated too much - not to his own face mind you, he would have killed them on the spot - and he knew they were probably right, although he knew his enemies that wore the insignia he held were bound to be finished for good now. He just _knew it_.

For, within his own lust filled red optics, the emblem he held was nothing to him anymore, and would be nothing more than a black and white memory. The royal purple within it would never mean anything anymore.

The Decepticon insignia and the honorable warriors it stood for were soon to be destroyed just like their noble leader Megatron. Such a lugubrious, ludicrous thing.

Optimus Prime smiled maliciously beneath his energon spattered faceplate and, through his sudden high of feeling victorious over all those who opposed him and the Autobots, reared his head back and laughed at the ember and smoke filled sky, the stars blocked out by the thick smoke. His fist clenched and the insignia was crushed within his palm.

Even as he laughed, unbeknownst to even him or anyone else for that matter within his universe, a similar war waged. Autobots and Decepticons fought there too, but, just as well, the roles were swapped. It had never crossed his mind ever as to the fact his downfall would result from his own reality being thrown into the mix of another.

Just as if one were to step into a mirror.


	2. Chapter 1: Shattered Mirror

Well, _this_ story got popular frighteningly quickly. I'm a bit baffled as to how so many people managed to jump the bandwagon in wanting to see more of this story, so here it is. Why yes, I _know_ that Evanescence did not exist in the eighties. Humor me, please. I did not actually mention Amy Lee's name within the context of the actual fanfic either, thank you very much. I also know that my knowledge of the Dutch language is limited and otherwise suckish at best. I own nothing, save for the general overall plot and other occasional few mishaps. Also, if anyone can point out the importance of the code A113, I will love you forever.

* * *

**I'd love to live without the constant fear and endless doubt**

**But I can't live without you**

_My Immortal_ _(Original Version)_ - Evanescence

**i**

_Universe A113 B_

_No. _No no no no no _no._

Starscream stood just outside the medical bay of the _Nemesis_ with his arms shaking. In fact, his wings were shaking with the effort of trying to keep himself under control. It wasn't a rare thing to see him a bit shaken up after battles - any of his fellow Decepticons could and would tell you this - but it was never _this_ severe. The Seeker knew he had a nerve problem, everyone knew for that matter, but he really did not care about his wobbly appearance among the other Transformers bustling around him.

His body was smeared in energon. His _mate's_ energon.

Starscream shuddered again violently, although he went unnoticed by the Constructicons and Soundwave working madly to keep his mate stabilized. His spark nearly burned out twice, within two minutes mind you, of his arrival at the _Nemesis_ - why for the love of the Matrix the ship had that Primus forsaken name, he did not know - and his ability to sense his mate's spark had made him somewhat useful in finding out if they were in danger of loosing him. So far, after two hours of being back home at their address base, his spark readings had leveled out somewhat, but the silver plated mech wasn't out of the woods yet.

Soundwave turned on his heel with two clamps in hand and managed to shove them into Megatron's chest to cut off his fuel pump's leaking valve and erupted fuel line. The communications officer had very little knowledge in medicine, but he was a useful assist in the fact he was the only 'Con within the entire ship with his own sparked creations. At this point in time as well, all the help they could get was, thankfully, received. When he had noted Soundwave and the Constructicons running amok, that did not necessarily mean they weren't the only ones in the room. Skywarp was monitoring the computers linked up to their commander with an attention not thought capable of him, Ramjet was adjusting instruments according to what Hook told him to do, Thundercracker, Thrust, Swindle, and Dirge were currently with Mixmaster making energon donations - how Thundercracker had managed to convince Swindle into accepting needles, Skywarp must have been proud of - and the cassettes were watching the scene intently from the sidelines, giving moral support if needed. The rest of the Decepticon fleet, unable to fit all of themselves inside the medical wing, had resorted to standing their ground worriedly outside the room.

And the humans of course. Starscream couldn't help but smile lightly in the back of his mind at how much he appreciated them.

"Starscream?"

The red and silver Seeker - if you ignored the unnatural pink tints smeared on his plating - turned his azure gaze downwards to see one of his personal human companions. Spike was messily dressed - Frenzy had managed to wake him up in the early hours of the morning, just half an hour after Megatron had arrived at base, to get him to come to the _Nemesis, _and said human nearly had a heart attack at the news - with had a saddened look in his tanned face. He was currently wearing his black T-shirt inside out, his jeans were a baggy disaster, and his hair was a rat's nest. Still, the Seeker could have cared less. He'd remind him to fix his appearance once he knew his bonded was to be alright… _if_ his bonded partner would be alright.

"Spike? I thought you were with Carly and Chip a second ago," Starscream's voice squeaked with effort, although he forced himself to not dwell on the sound of his voice. "Did the humans find out what happened to the plant?"

Spike ran a hand through his thick, blonde hair. The hair itself clashed with the surfer tan color of his skin and Rumble had joked about it playfully for a few weeks after he first got his tan. Even Megatron had managed to make Spike feel better about the stares he got cracking several friendly gags about it, and, considering Carly had taken a major liking to his new look unlike Sparkplug - the old man had been rather negative about Spike overdoing his tan at the salon due to a dare by several kids at his high school - he felt even better about it. "Yes. It's not looking good either. Apparently there weren't many survivors and the Autobots destroyed the entire plant." He paused briefly, as if deciding what to say. "The government is going the abandon the contracts with the other countries to cancel building the other plants like it. They're scared the Autobots will pull another stunt like what they did earlier. And you should hear about the estimated electric bill crap…"

"Screw the slaggin' bills! What about that new blaster," Frenzy interrupted running over. "It's going to be another slagging pain in the afterburners if we don't figure out how to naturalize it. Jesus, where the Hell did they _manage_ to make something like that?" Aside his adoption of humans terms and slang, the red and black mech was one of the few Decepticons with red optics, concealed from view behind his red visor, but those optics were plagued with concern for his leader and loathing for the mech that unleashed that weapon on Megatron.

Starscream shakily shook his head, his wings trembling still with the shock of all that was happening now. "I-I don't kn-know." Everyone knew Starscream was practically useless when he was panic stricken, although they could not help but feel sorry for him in this case. Still, the Seeker managed to regain some of his composure. At least, just barely enough to look down at Frenzy to give orders. "Assist the others with Megatron. We… we need to get him stable before we do anything else…"

Frenzy shook his head. "That's what I wanted to tell you boss. He _is_ stable. At least, he's not in any immediate danger of dropping dead on us." The cassette shook his head. "Scrapper saw you over here having a spark attack and told me to send you off to the wash racks. You won't be helping Megatron if you're not mentally stable."

Starscream's head snapped up. The chaos _did_ calm somewhat without his notice. Soundwave was talking quietly with the Constructicons, Ramjet looked as though he was doing a several more checks on the instruments that connected themselves to the silver mech, and Skywarp had gotten up to join Thundercracker towards where Dirge and Thrust were - lightly considering the situation they were all forced in - bugging Swindle. Leave it to the Coneheads to try to lighten any mood.

And, in the center of it all, was his mate, his chest ripped open and smeared in energon. A cooling oxygen mask over his mouth in an attempt to prevent his systems from overheating since working overtime to keep his spark burning.

Starscream's face was neutral. "I can't-"

"_Yes_ you _can_," Rumble said coming over to see his brother. The purple cassette had a visor as blood red as his twin, but the facts surrounding his optic color were the same.

"I'm second in command, so-"

"So _nothin.' _With Megs down and out, we need someone who's washed up and chilled out before anything's gonna happen next," Frenzy looked up in time to see Starscream drop his shoulders just barley, meaning the Seeker was already feeling better, although the look in his electric blue optics said otherwise. Smiling, the black cassette placed a hand on the Seeker's leg. "Don't worry. It's gonna take more than some mother fraggin' blaster thing to take ol' Megs out."

Starscream looked down at Frenzy before turning his look to Rumble and Spike. The human had a comforting look on his face and Starscream nodded weakly before turning away without another word toward the washing area. After several steps, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Thanks, and Spike?"

"Yeah?" Spike had a incautious look on his face as to what the Seeker could want now.

"Fix your shirt." With that said, the Seeker was gone, walking silently away.

Spike suddenly took the time to look down at himself. "Oops. I never even noticed…"

Rumble and Frenzy were on either side of the small human now, rather playful looks in their optics. If the twins were being mischievous at a time like this, it meant Megatron was going to be fine in due time. Although, considering Optimus Prime's homicidal tendencies, time was something they really did not have. Regardless of how grim their situation was however, the matching expressions on the cassette brother's faces were welcome enough… until Rumble spoke. "I wonder if _Carly_ noticed…" The emphasis on "Carly" was unmistakable, and Spike felt his face flush red.

"Shut up."

**ii**

_Universe A113 A_

"Starscream you _idiotic_ _buffoon!_"

"I'm _sorry_, Megatron! _Please_ forgive me! I-I didn't mean to-_ACK!_"

All of the Decepticons present in the room, aside Thundercracker and Skywarp, were smirking viciously as Megatron slammed his second in command into the wall brutally. The Seeker had the wind knocked out of him for the briefest of moments before regaining his breath, although said breath was lost again when he noticed Megatron's fusion cannon pointed directly towards his face. Starscream's sunset red optics flashed with fear as he stared down the barrel of the deadly weapon.

"You've failed me again Starscream! Tell me how an Air Commander like you could possibly be unsuccessful at a simple energy raid!" The silver mech's voice was disturbingly maleficent, although, around Starscream, that voice was very often used, especially when the silver warlord was upset with him.

Starscream, with his hand not yet clamped around the ebony fist around his throat, pointed at Thundercracker and Skywarp. "T-They didn't give me suitable backup when Skyfire attacked us! We-"

"_One_ Autobot sabotaged our plan! Just_ one!_"

"He was _heavily armed_! And the-"

Starscream never had enough time to finish. A blast of purple luminosity emitted from the barrel of Megatron's cannon, although the Silver 'Con found enough timing in his to throw the Seeker to the side before re-aiming and hitting the treacherous Seeker in the left wing. Even though on stun, the Seeker's sensitive wings flared to life with agony and he screeched in pain, his back arching as he rolled onto his side as far as his mangled wing could allow him.

Megatron stood there, his cannon raised and the barrel of the weapon smoking. He lifted his head and optics from the immobile Seeker to his other two wing mates. They were damaged heavily, encouraging the fact they were under heavy fire, but the fact also remained they had all failed to return to base with even one energon cube in possession. Red optics narrowing, he pointed his cannon in their general direction. Both Skywarp and Thundercracker visibly tensed but remained where they kneeled, both out of respect and lack of energy.

After several seconds of staring his second in command's wing partners down, he sneered at them nastily. "Get Starscream down to the medical bay and have yourselves repaired. I'm not finished with any of you yet…" The silver Decepticon, to emphasis the point, realigned his gun and shot Starscream a second time, this time in the upper back. The Seeker made another shriek of pain and Megatron grinned with malice. The other Decepticons in the room were still grinning like the sadistic soldiers they all were.

Megatron turned to Thundercracker and Skywarp, optics still blazing. The two Seekers were still kneeling there, more so looking like they were trying to regain their composure to move. Outraged, his temperament peaking at the day's total breaking point, whipped his cannon towards them and shot at the ground where they stood. As the blast of light exploded at their feet they two Seekers recoiled and either ended out on their backs as in Skywarp's case, or on their skid plates with wide optics as in Thundercracker's.

"I said _get going_!"

The two Seekers were on their feet in moments, both of them managing to hoist their Air Commander up so they could sling his arms over their shoulders. Megatron watched as the two slowly made their way out of the control room, the weight of the mech between and their own injuries slowing them down. Megatron, still scowling, turned his attention to the others in the room. Now their pleased looks left their faces. If the reason for his anger was gone and his anger still lingered, that meant they were on the receiving ends for-

"_All of you! Back to work! Now!_"

**iii**

_Universe A113 B_

Starscream was relatively grateful the heat of the volcano the _Nemesis_ was lodged in heated up the water and cleaning fluids to a relaxing level. He just wasn't in the mood for a cold shower.

energon flowed of his agile body easily, although there were patches that had dried right onto his armor. Sickly doing so, he had managed to scrub off some of the caked on 'blood' - Chip had compared processed energon to that once, and thus the word had managed to snake its way into his CPU at the moment - as the cleaning fluids in the water took care of the rest, cleaning his body.

Weird. The last time he was even in the shower racks, Megatron had been with him.

The Seeker, optics dimming considerably, pressed his forehead against the wall in front of him. The cooling metal from the wall face did not make him feel any better about nearly loosing his bonded. Slagging Primus, he had seen the blast rip through Megatron's chassis like a hot knife through butter! Optimus Prime was just standing there… just _laughing_…

Starscream's fist flexed, spastically clenching and several times as he tried not to let Optimus Prime's murderous tendencies get the better of him. The Seeker _had_ been with Megatron when they first arrived at the plant, but the grey and silver mech had run off as soon as he saw Prime - in his vehicle mode attempting to run over some scientists - off in the distance. He had attempted to follow, but a huge solar panel ablaze had fallen in his way, making him loose sight of his mate. He had jetted off into the sky then, but the aerial-bots spotted him. Evading them for ten minutes had been painful, his mind racing in attempting to shake his enemies and relocate his beloved, but they would not give up their chase on the Decepticon second in command. It was only when Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, and Thrust showed up to assist him that Starscream was able to escape, the other four Seekers telling him that they could hold off on their own.

They had. Megatron did not.

He had showed up clicks too late.

Megatron had been damaged, although not enough to fully disable him, and was locked in a fighting stance. Optimus was in a similar state of situation, but the Autobot leader stood firm, ready to kill. They had obviously been locked in battle for the entire time Starscream had lost sights of his leader, and the Seeker was glad his mate wasn't seriously damaged. The Seeker was ready to swoop down to his leader's aid - his leader's cannon was lying several feet away from Megatron's reach, and Starscream knew the odds would be fair again if he assisted - but then Megatron charged. It shouldn't have been a problem, Optimus' gun would never throw his leader off enough for Prime to avoid the blow, but then Prime whipped out another gun…

Like that, Megatron screamed in agony as the incredibly powerful blast ripped through his chassis, sending him sprawling backward while the beam continued to tear through him. He had screamed in agony too. Starscream's spark had pulsed with so much painful energy due to their bondlink that he couldn't help but scream in pain and for his beloved.

Luckily, Optimus had recoiled from the powerful blast and was sent sprawling backwards as well. Starscream wasn't sure whether or it was on instinct alone or on his own, but he dived to the ground after his mate.

Then he called everyone to retreat. The Autobots had won.

Starscream whimpered lightly, pressed his face to the wall, and finally broke down sobbing at the mounting stress.

He stayed in the shower even after all his mate's vital fluids were cleaned off him.

**iv**

_Universe A113 A_

"This _sucks,_" Skywarp had stated rudely, keeping his air commander's arm hoisted over his damaged shoulder.

Thundercracker snorted, though the gesture went unnoticed by Skywarp and Starscream. The red and silver Seeker had regained some form of consciousness and was cursing his two wingmates to the Pitt and back, and all Thundercracker and Skywarp could do was let his threats go in one audio receptor and through the other. It was only when the ranting got too much that Skywarp made his rather crude statement.

Starscream made a rasping sound, probably due to the damages he took when Megatron had him by the throat. "Excuse me?" it was a question, but it did sounded more like an unsaid threat to an extent. If it hadn't been sneered as much as it had…

Skywarp mimicked his rasping noise in a mocking tone. "First we get blown up by Skyfire because of you, then you pin the blame for the failed mission on _us_, and then we get to drag _your_ sorry skid plate down to the medbay. Anything wrong with that?"

Thundercracker snorted again, though loud enough for both Seekers to hear. "You need to suck it up just as much as Starscream, Warp."

Skywarp growled and grated his teeth. "It wasn't _my_ fault we-"

"Suck it up," Thundercracker said again, more firmly mind you as he cut off his wingmate. Skywarp only resorted to growling lowly and looking away from both Starscream and Thundercracker.

"If only this bastard-"

Starscream resorted to screeching out a scream in frustration. _"SHUT UP!_"

Thundercracker was relieved when they finally made it to the medbay. His headache was starting to seriously bother him now…

It would bother him a hell of a lot more later.

**v**

_Universe A113 B_

Let it only be said once and remembered for the rest of the time you functioned. You never went against Optimus' orders unless you had a death wish.

Ratchet and Ironhide had to dive out of the way to avoid getting hit by Prowl as Optimus Prime threw him into the nearest computer console. The second-in-command slammed into the console with a sickening crack from his own battered body and from the now destroyed computer. Even more enraged than before, Optimus lunged for the white and black police cruiser once more and punched his officer hard in the face.

Prowl's head snapped off to the side and the now unconscious mech crashed to the floor hard, his back smoking from where he had been shot prior to being attacked. Optimus stepped on the mech's head and applied enough force to dent his officer's head. He looked up at the surprised battle scarred Autobots and glared.

"Someone tell me what he did wrong."

No one in the room dared to even respond. The red eyed Autobot commander had very little patience to begin with, and it took him all of two seconds to aim his new blaster - the same one he used to nearly kill Megatron too, mind you - in Ironhide's direction. Ironhide took an immediate step back from the weapon aimed in his direction and everyone around him immediately backed away from the Prime's intended target. Ironhide was too much frozen in fear to back away further. If he did, he'd only hit the wall behind him anyways…

Optimus' optics flickered dangerously, like a spark before starting a forest fire. "What did he do, Ironhide?"

Ironhide could not help but stammer. "H-he, uh, he went against yer' orders, uh, sir-"

As soon as Optimus shot him with the cannon on stun - a nuclear acid cannon on stun isn't really effective for stunning just for the record - and as soon as Ironhide was down with the cannon blast ripping through his hip, he aimed it at the nearest mech to Ironhide's immediate left. Blaster.

"What did he do, Blaster?"

Blaster, from the perspective of his comerades at least, was well known for always staying on the Prime's good side. He was a vicious warrior and killer, and it was a well known fact the Autobot Prime treated him like one of his favorites. It was a useful advantage when you did not want to get shot, but Optimus was more unpredictable than caring towards him in situations like the one Blaster found himself in. Blaster had little control over his voice box seeing he spoke before he realized what he said. "He went after Rumble and Frenzy when you told him to go after the Constructicons, boss?"

Optimus said nothing for a moment, he dropped his cannon, seemingly smirked behind his faceplate, and turned away. Blaster slouched his shoulders in relief-

Optimus turned around and shot him in the leg. Blaster howled in agony as the nuclear energy tore through his wiring like acid and he fell over in white hot pain. His screaming died down when Optimus walked over and effectively kicked him in the head.

The Autobot Prime growled. "Wrong answer." He looked back up, this time seeing Bluestreak in his sights by the doorway, and snarled when Bluestreak seemingly wasn't paying attention. The assassin was smirking to himself and, all things taken into account, it was something that made Optimus even more angry. A basket full of innocent Earth puppies would make him angry as well for reference as well… essentially, an angry Optimus was a usual Optimus, so there really was not too much of a difference in situation here compared to other times the Autobot Prime had been greatly enraged with his crew.

The only difference here was that he had his nuclear cannon with him.

Optimus glared hard. "Can you tell me what Prowl did wrong, or should I send to the medbay after in the same condition as Blaster and Ironhide?"

Bluestreak did not even look up. "Hij was een verrader om tegen uw orders in the gaan en is een verraderlijke bastaard, neem ik aan?"

Optimus glared even harder. "In a language I _understand, _you pathetic excuse for a warrior…"

If there was one thing that irked Optimus the most, it was the assassin's excessive use of Dutch. Despite it having been a human language and therefore inferior, the skilled sniper had taken a strange liking over it for whatever frivolous reason he had. Optimus lowered his cannon ever so slightly and glowered at his soldier hard. Had the Prime's gaze been a laser, it would have cut through Bluestreak like a hot knife through soft butter. Nonetheless, Bluestreak did not seem deterred in the slightest. He still did not look up as he responded. "He was a traitor for going against your orders and being a treacherous _bastard, _I presume?"

Optimus finally dropped his weapon, finally letting his temperament cool. "See? Now was that so tough to figure out?" The Autobot commander looked to the rest of his crew standing around the command center, all of them still ready to leap out of the way in case their leader decided to make them his next victims. "Let this be a lesson to you all: Never go against what I say." The Autobot leader's voice had dropped dangerously low as he stared at with his darkened optics. "Unless you wish to end up like _this_."

No one had any time to react as nor did Bluestreak. His cool and collected air immediately vanished when Optimus whipped around and shot him in the shoulder with the cannon at full power. Bluestreak screeched on agony and crashed to the floor. Thankfully, the blast had glanced off his shoulder at an angle as so as little damage as possible was produced… and as little damage as possible for his new weapon was still much damage all on its own. The wound was not fatal, but it was would most certainly leave a permanent and horrible scar on Bluestreak's shoulder.

Optimus glared at everyone. "Now, where's Wheeljack! This weapon needs to be stronger! I nearly killed Megatron today and I was so _close!_ Unless someone finds him right now, you're _next!_"

**vi**

_Universe A113 A_

Sideswipe blinked. "That's _bull."_

Sunstreaker looked far from forgiving towards his twin. "It's true."

Bumblebee had to cover his audios to keep himself from going insane as he sat on the sofa in the rec room. "It's only a superstition, Sunny. Y'know? Black cats, walking under ladders…" Bumblebee could not help how his voice sounded when he spoke, but the current argument he found himself having to listen to was driving him insane. Still, he found it necessary to add one last comment. "…Breaking stupid _mirrors_."

Sunstreaker was far from the point of being impressed. He stomped his foot and glared in the yellow Volkswagen beetle's direction. "You're not helping!"

Sideswipe rolled his optics and starred at his yellow twin with mischievous optics. "Bro, relax. If you're mad at me about breaking your mirror, all you have to do is yell at me to get you another one. 'Sides, since when were you, heh, _superstitious?_"

Of _course_ Sideswipe could not help but put the emphasis on "superstitious" for all that it was worth. Sunstreaker shoved the broken hand mirror in his brother's face and glared at him. If looks could kill, Sunny would have put his younger twin in some sort of a comma. "Since ti involved my looks and my luck! Breaking mirrors is worth seven years of bad luck, and if you're unlucky, I'll be unlucky! My paintjob will get scratched, my wax will never look good, I'll be hideous for the rest of my life starting now-"

Halfway across the room, and ironically, Jazz started to play the karaoke version of _Dancing Queen_ by Abba on his radio. Sunstreaker would have ignored him if the black and white Porsche did not start singing his own version of the song…

Bumblebee and Sideswipe could not help but giggle at the lyrics. "_He is a drama queen! Young and not-so-sweet, only… _erm, however old it is that you are, anyway."Jazz was good at his singing, true, but it left Sunstreaker far from impressed. Still, Jazz stopped playing the song looked at the mech with a playful look in his optics. "Look man, you really just gotta relax. I mean, it's _just_ a mirror."

Sunstreaker was far from deterred. "Fine! Your music is _just _music!"

Jazz glared. "…Fine. I understand your point perfectly fine, but man, seven years of bad luck is just bull. Where'd you hear that?"

Sunstreaker was blunt. "Spike."

Jazz threw his hands in the air, more for emphasis than it was for his steadily growing frustration at the yellow Lamborghini. "It's a human myth! You don't honestly _believe_ it, do you?"

If Sunstreaker did not have an instantaneous reaction, it was a sure sign the apocalypse was coming. When the yellow mech did not respond immediately, Sideswipe shared a nervous glance with Jazz and Bumblebee. It was only for a moment mind you, noting that Sunstreaker snapped back to attention and pointed an accusing black finger in all of their direction.

"Hound walked under a ladder a week ago and Dirge shot him down the next day! Explain _that!"_

They shared a collective groan of frustration. Had the yellow Lamborghini's behavior not been so irritating, his demeanor might have actually be amusing. Sideswipe spoke up next, sparing a sideways glare of discontent at his twin. "Bro, he was shot because he wasn't watching what he was doing. Geez, you really _are_ crazy."

Sunstreaker glared. "I bet Optimus will back me up!"

Bumblebee, realizing where _this_ was going, only turned up the volume on the news station he was watching. Jazz only groaned and bashed his head into the table he was seated at. Whether or not he did so to imply comical input on the situation or out of genuine disgust went unanswered.

Sideswipe yelled over the volume of the television. "You're on! Don't go crying to me later when I prove you wrong!"

Both yellow and red twins ran out of the rec room, Sunstreaker holding the broken mirror in his hand. Of course, this would lead to the event that would smash two realities together, but they were too innocent to know.

Even though Sunstroke's mirror was smashed, there was still a reflective surface. It would be enough.

**vii**

_Universe A113 B_

Starscream was still in the shower as he had been for the past forty cycles.

The Seeker kept his forehead pressed to the misted and cool wall and left his optics offline. It was a fact that he forgot what time it was and how long he had been in there really, but he did not really find it in himself to care. Megatron nearly dying in his arms came back to mind.

Starscream clenched his fist hard every time the mental image came back to mind, which was usually every ten clicks or so. The longest time it took, Starscream remembered, was twelve, noting all he could do to try to keep those horrible images from coming back was to count. Of course, this wasn't helping him in the slightest. Counting only helped him to remember them.

Eight… nine… ten…

There was that horrible image again. Starscream clenched his fist. The Seeker's wings shuddered and he gave up trying to count, but it did not help him in the slightest still. _"I sound like depressed human schoolgirl like Carly explained once,"_ he noted mentally. It did not help him really, but it made him feel better that he wasn't the only one who ever felt the way he did now. Still, it did not aid to deter the feeling whatsoever. Out of impulse, he lightly thumped his head against the wall. It hurt a little and gave Starscream a slight headache, but it was something to do other than think about… about his mate nearly dying.

Starscream grated his teeth and he started to go through different radio frequencies on his radio to help keep his mind off things. His F-15 fighter mode was usually used for picking up signals by his enemies, true, but it also conveniently had radio stations as well. A nifty little thing the human's entertainment radio frequencies were. Starscream was one of the many Decepticons that had grown to like Earth's music. There were hundreds and genres and thousands of styles. Despite being a single species, the human race's range of creativity was both astounding and amazing.

_"I don't know any Decepticon who _doesn't_ like some of the pieces humans come up with,"_ he thought mentally, _"but I'm the only one who will ever appreciates it as something beyond mere entertainment alone."_

Finally, he found one. It was towards the finishing chorus on a terribly poor frequency muddled with white noise, but he listened regardless. A woman was singing in time with strikes of a piano's chord in a soft spoken manner, her tone sad and yet oddly powerful at the same time.

"_I'd love to walk away by myself out of the rain, but I can't leave without you…" _the woman's voice faded ominously as the signal was nearly lost, flickering on a blade's edge of fading from existence altogether.

_I'd love to live without the constant fear and endless doubt, but I can't live without you…_

Megatron.

The mental blast from the bondlink startled Starscream badly. The Seeker whipped around, splashing water off his body onto Megatron. The Decepticon leader stood there in the doorway to the shower stall with a slightly pained expression on his face as he leaned against the doorframe in a manner heavier than Starscream would have ever wanted. His surprised and gapped expression seemingly went unnoticed by Megatron. The white and grey mech spoke up via their bondlink first with a low mental chortle.

_Don't ask how I know the lyrics. I've heard the song before. _TheDeception leader grinned, although the pain he felt from his injuries was still horridly embedded in his expression no matter how hard he tried to fight it. _Only _you_ could be distracted by a song long enough for me to sneak up on you without having the bond closed._

Starscream immediately turned to his mate, the song he was playing forgotten. _You_ _should be in the medbay! What are you doing-?_

_The Constructicons let me come down. I was not as bad off after they fixed me up as they thought I would be. They let me come down t see you since they said you were very bad off._ Megatron smiled lightly at the red and silver Seeker then, making Starscream shudder ever so slightly. _I owe you my life yet again, Starscream. Thank you._

Starscream looked away._ I thought you were going to…_

Megatron reached forward and took the Seeker's chin in his hand, tracing his thumb across the Seeker's cheek. _And I'm not. It'll take more than one of Optimus' new toys to put me down for good._ Megatron paused then, eyeing the Seeker critically. _…I take it the plant was lost. _It wasn't a question and was more so a flat out statement, but Starscream shuddered again at the tone. It wasn't threatening, but he knew how much Megatron would be upset if he found that Optimus had killed all the plant workers.

Megatron heard him over their link. The Decepticon leader sighed and looked away. _All those humans lost… _He sounded so distant to Starscream even thought he was standing so close. After a moment, he turned back to Starscream. _They'll be avenged. I'll stop Optimus no matter how long it takes. _

Starscream interrupted. _Not now you won't. You're still hurt…_

Megatron leaned closer to his mate. _Since when has that stopped your immortal?_ With that, he closed the distance between them and kissed his mate. Starscream, unable to resist his lover, melted right into the larger white and smoke grey Transformer, the mech's unusual choice of prior words lost to him. They were still lost to him when Megatron gently pushed him into the stall and let the door close behind him.

Starscream never found out the name of the song.

**viii**

_Universe A113 A_

"If there was a chance your latest project would not blow up the base, I would not ask you what you were doing. Seeing as nothing you make _doesn't_ pose a threat to potentially blowing up the base however, I have little choice but to ask."

Wheeljack turned to face Optimus from his latest project on the desk in front of him with a sheepish expression on his face, his light panels blinking blue to signal he was both surprised and embarrassed with Optimus Prime's entrance and statement. He glanced back at the project for a moment, nothing so far but a small device and a scattered mess of wires and bolts, before turning back to his leader. "It's not activated, so it won't blow anything up. I promise."

Optimus smiled playfully behind his faceplate and walked over to his engineer. "That's what you said two months ago about that radio disabler."

Wheeljack looked slightly taken aback as he put down his wrench to face Optimus entirely, swiveling his chair around to look at Optimus fully. "How was _I _supposed to know it was going to disable Blaster's radio? It was purely by chance. Six hundred to one!"

"_And,_" Optimus added with a bit of emphasis, "it lead to Blaster unable to listen to his music. He sang as loud as he could on monitor duty for three weeks until you got it fixed."

Wheeljack fake pouted with a playful air to his attitude. "At least I got it fixed before we all went deaf!"

"_Or_ insane by his off-key singing." Optimus added with a smile. He was only playing around of course and Wheeljack knew that too, but that particular event was no where near funny.

Wheeljack, seeming to read Optimus' mind, sighed. "How was I supposed to know Jazz would use his cameo judge appearance on _Idol_ against Blaster? That was a ten to one chance!"

"It's still Jazz, which means the chance increases by a good eighty percent. A nine to ten chance," Ratchet interrupted the two when he walked into the room. He glanced at Optimus, winked, and walked over to Wheeljack with a crate full of wires and mechanical parts. The medic looked back at Optimus and made an entirely un-useful gesture with his hand. "I'm watching Jack, so I promise he won't blow anything up."

Wheeljack huffed and looked at Ratchet. "You're no fun."

"So," Optimus said casually, eying the device his medical officer and engineer were working on. "May I ask what it is anyways?"

Wheeljack turned back to face the project and gesture for Optimus to walk over. Carefully, Optimus did so and looked over Wheeljack's shoulder as he opened up the top portion of the device, showing off a scanner and a reactor within the frail build of the small machine. "It's a dimensional reactor. It's only a prototype, but I tested it once and it worked."

Optimus raided an optic ridge. "It's been tested?" He looked at the box of materials Ratchet had brought in and eyed Wheeljack again. "Why are you still working on it then? Did it work before?"

"It _did_ actually," Wheeljack said proudly. Maybe a tad bit _too_ proudly actually, noting the rude snort that escaped Ratchet when the medic crossed the room to attain more equipment, but it deterred Wheeljack in no way. Perhaps he had not even heard him. The engineer reached across the table and showed Optimus two small rubber balls, one red and one purple. The Autobot commander held out his hand and Wheeljack dropped them in the Autobot commander's palm. Wheeljack beamed visibly even though Optimus couldn't see his mouth. "What can you tell me about those two balls?"

Optimus raided an optic ridge. "One is red and one is violet."

Wheeljack seemingly grinned even wider. "What else can you tell me?"

Optimus did not know what else to say. His online systems and readouts told him the two balls were the same exact mass, made from the same chemical proteins to form the rubber…

The readings on the purple ball came out screwy when the Autobot Prime scanned it. Not by much, but there was still something oddly amiss about it. Exactly what that was however, Optimus found himself unable to adequately place it. He scanned it again and came up with the same results. He looked at Wheeljack with an expectant look.

"Something's wrong with the purple ball. I don't know what though. Care to explain?"

If Wheeljack could grin any wider behind his faceplate, Optimus was sure the mech would tear his face in two. Wheeljack made an entirely un-useful gesture with his hands in the same manner Ratchet did and gestured to the red ball. "This red ball is mine. When I placed it in the machine - BLAM - I had the purple ball as well."

Wheeljack was still looking rather proud of himself and Optimus blinked. "So you cloned the ball?" Optimus looked at the two rubber spheres and Wheeljack's expression dropped slightly. Optimus looked back up at the engineer. "That can't be right. Wouldn't they both be red?"

Wheeljack's proud and boastful air returned to him. Optimus briefly wondered if he ever got whiplash from such abrupt mood changes when he was in his lab. Nonetheless, Wheeljack continued. "Exactly! If it was a regular cloning device, it would have made the purple ball _red!_ But it _didn't!_ That's because this _isn't_ a cloning device!"

There was a silence in the room as Wheeljack stopped. Optimus made the gesture for him to continue. Wheeljack did.

"Well Optimus, here's the thing. This isn't an ordinary device. Like I said before, it's a dimensional reactor. That…" He gestured to the device for good measure. "_That_ means it immediately takes the same ball and gathers the atoms of an exact copy of it…" he trailed off and looked at Optimus with a seemingly huge grin plastered behind his mask. "…From another _dimension!"_

Optimus said nothing.

The semi truck blinked once. Twice. Three times. He stared at Wheeljack curiously and tilted his head to the side. "This will help us _how?_"

Wheeljack's air of confidence faltered so quickly again Optimus was _positive_ the engineer had whiplash from it. Still, the mech blinked his light panels and shook his head. "I don't know. It should come in handy though if we want to create new weapons from ones we already have."

Optimus gestured to the purple ball with his free hand. "But it's not exactly the same."

"_But…_" Wheeljack said, "It _is._ It only plays a different role. The red one is red, the purple one is purple. They're both toys used for the same exact purpose."

Ratchet finally walked back over with more items. It was obvious he was listening in as he addressed Optimus from where Wheeljack left off. "Medical tools for saving a mech's arm could be used to get a medical tool for saving a mech's leg. This device could be real useful in those terms and could help very much. It's practical at least." Ratchet glared at Wheeljack and Wheeljack blinked his panels once. "…But there _are_ downsides."

"Downsides?" Optimus did not like this. If one of Wheeljack's crazy inventions involved downsides, it usually meant something bad was going to happen…

Ratchet quickly responded. "No one's going to get blown up, I promise, but the device's properties would not do well with reflective materials." Ratchet shrugged halfheartedly. "Polished metals, glass, _mirrors_…"

"And why is that?" Optimus asked. Wheeljack put his head down on the table in a sort of frustration and ratchet sighed.

"The machine wouldn't know what to copy because a mirror is only a reflection of everything around it. _Anything_ could be brought in from another dimension."

This sounded very bad, true, but Optimus kept his calm air and set the two rubber balls on the table next to Wheeljack's elbow. "Could anything sentient be brought through?"

Ratchet blinked at Optimus and looked at Wheeljack. The grey mech looked up at the CO, looked back to Optimus, and then turned back to ratchet. "…There a seven hundred thousand to one chance…"

Optimus sighed. "I'm sorry Wheeljack, but I'll have to ask you to scrap the-"

"Hey Optimus!"

All three mechs looked up to see Sunstreaker with his broken mirror in hand in the doorway. It was usually never a good thing for one of the twins in Wheeljack's lab, and Optimus was about to address him to leave had the yellow mech not spoken up. "Listen, Sideswipe broke my mirror and I wanted to ask you if you believe in the superstition that-"

Hell more or less broke loose. Sideswipe ran in after his brother, crashed into the yellow Autobot, and the smashed mirror went flying out of his grasp. It was a sick turn of events really, but it was still enough. Wheeljack jumped up, knocking both of the rubber balls to the floor, and realized a second too late the lid to his device was left open. There was little time to react as the mirror fell into the device. The machine abruptly activated and all mechs in the room stared dumbfounded as the device began to react.

Sunstreaker stared dumbly ahead of him and looked over his shoulder at his twin lying on his back. "Told you so, you stupid son of a-"

A blinding white light overtook everything.

**ix**

_Universe A113 B_

Frenzy looked underneath Soundwave's chair and looked up at everyone when he did not find what he was looking for. "Has anyone seen my purple rubber ball?"

He went unnoticed. Skywarp's optics flashed a bright blue and the Seeker's slouched position straightened in surprise.

The black and purple Seeker - when not being a being a total idiot and pulling pranks on anyone who he saw fit - was incredibly sensitive. Although his ability to teleport was caused by a special space-time neutralizer device in his super-structure, it still made him receptive to anything related to the fabric of space. Although that sense of space around him was originally small and went unnoticed by the Seeker himself, it increased in strength by a huge amount when he and Thundercracker bonded. When Soundwave had first detected the change in the Seeker himself, he had explained that bonding had strengthened Skywarp's ability because Thundercracker's spark energy was adding extra power to he sensory skills. It scared the Seeker at first being able to strongly sense things unseen going on around him, but the Seeker became accustomed to his heightened clairvoyant like senses.

Still, the Seeker had gotten used to it… but it did not mean what he felt now was something he felt ever before.

Thundercracker - sitting next to his companion on the large sofa located in the rec. room - straightened as well in surprise to his mate's sudden movement. The blue Seeker redirected his optics from the news station they were watching - the huge buzz on the power plant was still dominating all the news stations and interviews on the incident were constant - to the black F-15 beside him, instantly tense and starring out into space. Alarmed, Thundercracker nudged his partner with his elbow.

"'Warp?" No use. The Seeker was still, no indication he even heard the other Decepticon to begin with. More alarmed than before at no response, he put a hand on Skywarp's left shoulder, giving him a slight shake. "Skywarp, _answer_ me!"

Silence. Skywarp and silence were to phrases not meant to be used in the same sentence.

The Seeker's bright gleaming blue optics were still bright and his air intakes were normal, indicating he was still conscious. Just as well, more or less fortunately for the growingly panicked blue Seeker, Chip had noticed the commotion as well. The small human had been sitting back in his wheelchair watching the massive television beside the metallic sofa - if you could even call a large metal slab with a thick metal back support a couch to begin with - before redirecting his attentions to the two Seekers sitting there.

Seeing the increasingly nervous look in Thundercracker's face, the blonde human managed to crank his head up to look at them, blue eyes wide with concern. "TC, what's wrong?"

Thundercracker's head whipped around to see where the voice came from, until he looked down at saw Chip. Frantically, the blue jet looked back over at his counterpart once again. "He's… he's just zoning out. I… I can't... Primus, he just won't snap _out of_ it!"

The loud outcry had harbored attention from the other participants in the room now, earning Thundercracker several stares of concern and several mechs clamoring over to see what was wrong. One of these, fortunately, was Rumble, begin tailed closely by Spike. Good. If anyone could get sky to come back to reality, it was either himself, Rumble, or one of the humans, preferably Spike or Carly.

"Rumble was the first to speak. "Whadaya mean he just won't snap outta it. Is he even online?"

"_Yes!_" Thundercracker's response had come out a bit more roughly than intended, but the cassette stood firm, Spike glancing between the blue and black fighter jets.

Spike jumped into the conversation. "Did you try your bondlink?"

Thundercracker blinked at Spike. "No…"

Spike threw his arms in the air. "Then try that!"

The Decepticons had taken awhile to get used to the humans and their abrupt outbursts, but it did really good for the effect when it came around to convincing the 'Cons to do something. Still, it did nothing to help the panicked air that had consumed Thundercracker. Without even responding to Spike, he turned his attention to Skywarp and addressed him through their link.

_Skywarp? _Thundercracker nearly jumped out of his own plating when the black and lilac Seeker whipped around to meet his gaze.

Things would have been considered alright had his mate's optics not been wide with fear.

Alarmed, the blue flier drew his face to Skywarp's and clenched his partner's shoulder, his own spark suddenly feeling heavy. If anything made Skywarp as scared as the look in his optics, it was usually very, _very_ bad. _Warp, what's wrong?_

Skywarp was still for another moment before he shuddered violently, making his lover almost loose his grip on his shoulder. _Something's… wrong…_

_What?_

_I… oh, _Primus_… something is _really_ wrong._

_But what-?_

It was at that moment that Soundwave ran into the room, red optics bright crimson with something crossed between sheer panic and worry. Bot feeling were radiating off the lieutenant in harsh waves, alerting everyone in the room.

"Status: Do you sense that?"

Skywarp looked up so suddenly that the gears in his neck snapped as his head cranked up, the noise from them rather loud and violent. The sudden fear in his azure optics was evident to those all standing a whole room's length from him.

Even Thundercracker felt his spark wrench in horror.

Skywarp roughly stood, reeling back in terror. "Holy_ slag!_ Everything's falling apart! The multiverse is-"

He never had a time to finish due to the blinding light that engulfed them all.

**x**

_Universe A113 A_

Skywarp blinked. "Why do I have a feeling something really bad is going to happen?"

Hook grunted something in annoyance as he worked on Starscream, the Seeker trying not to squeak in pain. Thundercracker turned to face Skywarp as they waited their turn for repairs. "You say something 'Warp?"

Skywarp seemed slightly more nervous. "I mean something really, _really_ whacked…"

It was an uncomfortable feeling actually. Skywarp felt his spark tighten and he got a sick feeling to his stomach. It felt alien and unusual to him, and anything along the lines of that usually meant something bad was going to happen. He did not know why he got the feelings he did - this was not the first time, mind you - but it was usually never something good…

Thundercracker poked him in the shoulder, not liking his friends silence one bit. "Warp…"

Before he could respond, there was a blinding bright light.

**xi**

_Universe A113 B_

Starscream away from Megatron for the briefest of moments, his face flushed from the loving stimulation he was receiving from his mate. "Do you feel something?"

Megatron was about to respond when there was a bright light.

**xii**

_Universe A113 A_

Megatron looked up from the monitor he was examining from over Soundwave's shoulder when Soundwave stiffened in his seat. Whatever it was, Megatron felt it too.

Megatron blinked. "What the slag-?"

Before he could realize what happened, there was a blinding light.

**xiii**

_Universe A113 B_

Optimus effectively had Wheeljack against the wall, strangling his engineer, with a cruel sneer on his face. Wheeljack was badly beaten and had a large dent in the side of his head, his optics were cracked, and Optimus had torn off a piece of the engineers right head panel for, ahem, a not-so-good measure.

A deep growl had torn itself from his voice box and he stared heatedly into Wheeljack's near offline optics. "The blast didn't kill Megatron instantly. _Why?"_ It was an unsaid threat clearly, and Wheeljack did not need to be half-dead to realize that. The engineer sputtered and coughed.

"P-perhaps your aim… Perhaps your aim was too low…"

Optimus bashed the smaller mech into the wall again and held him by his neck even tighter. "I shot the fragged bastard right in his _fragging_ _SPARK! _He _LIVED!_ YOU _FAILED!_ _WHY!_"

Wheeljack would have responded had Optimus not suddenly dropped him.

The Autobot Prime stood there, silent, as he felt an alien sensation creep throughout his systems before…

There was a bright light that engulfed everything.

**ixx**

In both nor neither dimensions, the mirror of sorts between them broke. Now neither of them were reflections. They were one and the same.


	3. Chapter 2: Alternate Reality

I'm really, _really_ sorry for such the long wait. This chapter was a monster to write and it took a lot of work to get it done. I went back and fixed many errors too so, if you are reading this story for a second time since reading it once before, there are probably many corrected errors. Transition chapters like this are hard for me to write, and you can imagine that the next one is going to be even more of a pain to dish out. You should all see why once you finish reading this particular installment to the end. No, I will _not_ give away spoilers. Concrit is lovely, methinks.

* * *

In religion, ethics, and philosophy, the phrase, **good and evil** refers to the location of objects, desires, and behaviors on a two-way spectrum, with one direction being morally positive ("good"), and the other morally negative ("evil"). "Good" is a broad concept and is difficult to define, but typically it deals with an association with life, continuity, happiness, desirability… Evil is more simply defined: The opposite of good…

_~Wikipedia_

_Arise_ - E.S. Posthumus

**i**

When the light faded, nothing had changed much visibly. For the first ten seconds anyways.

Sunstreaker uncovered his optics and blinked blearily around the room, azure optics trying to refocus and adjust to his surroundings. Everything in Wheeljack's lab was intact - nothing had physically exploded in their faces for once - and, seemingly, all was good. Optimus, Wheeljack, and Ratchet uncovered their optics and turned around to stare blankly from the device on Wheeljack's table to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. A second later, realizing his twin was still lying on top of him, the older of the two punched the red Lamborghini off and stood up. Sunstreaker looked down at his chassis before dusting himself off in an almost nonchalant manner.

"Well," he started dryly. "What the Pitt-?"

Ten seconds was up and, as fate would have it, something _did_ change physically. Said change involved Sunstreaker having a rather prominent dent in the side of his head when Ratchet flung a wrench across the room at him. Sunstreaker cried out and flipped backwards, his feet slipping out from underneath him in surprise. The sunshine yellow Lamborghini fell on his aft with a loud clang that was just as wounded as his usually bloated and infatuated pride. Sideswipe jumped in place a good three or so feet in the air - not much by Cybertronian standards, though it was obvious he jumped when he landed on the floor with a resonating chatter of metal against metal - while Optimus cranked his head towards Ratchet. Out of the corner of his optic, the supreme commander could see Wheeljack was staring into space in disbelief. The scientist's blue eyes glazed over in mute horror and, still caught in the alien machine, was Sunstreaker's broken mirror. The fractured surface had cracked even more before a small glass shard fell from the frame. It hit the floor with a soft, high pitched clink.

Ratchet was fuming, his optics darkened and looking about ready to suddenly flare red at any moment. "You _idiots!_ Do you realize what you just _did!"_

_Fuming _had obviously been the wrong word, perhaps downright _furious_ would have it the situation better, Optimus decided mentally to never get on the medic's bad side over the dejected dry of _"You scratched my paint!"_ ringing throughout the room. Optimus ignored Sunstreaker and the Autobot Prime addressed his medic. "Exactly _what_ did they do?"

There was silence. Dead silence. Even Sunstreaker had stopped in his mad ranting to keep his vocalizer offline.

Wheeljack began muttering something rapidly underneath his breath, sounding something along the lines of calculations and complex formulas, but there was nothing besides that. Wheeljack stumbled forward to look over the machine with worried optics and Optimus briefly mistook that worry being for the machine. The way the scientist looked up and scanned around the room was an indication of otherwise. Wheeljack had every right be worried about his creation - no matter how dumb or overly dangerous they were, Wheeljack was always concerned about his creations in one way or another - but the way Wheeljack's side panels flashed with a sort of fear glinting in his optics was an indication that the fear was for all of _them_.

When one of Wheeljack's usually insane inventions blew up in their faces, he was usually very calm and optimistic about it. Even when he accidentally set up a ten ton energon bomb inside his lab, he hadn't even been close to worried. In hindsight, him showing fear now meant something very, _very_ bad had happened. The mere thought made Optimus inwardly shudder.

Ratchet looked at Optimus with a torn expression. He was just as worried as Wheeljack. "Anything could have happened," he said. "The reflective surface in the broken mirror… It could have reflected _anything_ in this dimension and sent it through to ours."

Optimus felt his fuel tank sputter. "How will we figure out what that is?"

No one said anything right away. Again, an unnerving silence claimed the room.

Optimus Prime suddenly moved and the swift movement made everyone jump. The red and blue face plated mech smashed his fist against the desk with a clatter that was just as loud as Sunny falling to the floor. The silence was nearly unbearable and it was something he definitely wasn't in the mood for concerning the fact anything could have happened. If whatever came through the transporter was dangerous, it was important that they deal with it to ensure no innocent beings would be hurt. "Dammit, how will we know!"

Ratchet spoke. "We won't… unless whatever came through reveals itself."

"Or _themselves,"_ Wheeljack finished quietly.

Again, everything was quiet. No one could bring it upon themselves to break it until Sunstreaker chose to speak up.

"Just my luck," he hissed.

A second dent made itself at right at home in the side of Sunny's head, this time from the broken mirror Ratchet decided to pitch.

**ii**

Spike uncovered his eyes. "What the _hell?"_

"Is that Dutch too?" Bluestreak said with a groan. Uncovering his optics, he looked around and blinked blearily.

Everyone in the recreational room in the _Ark_ looked around nervously after the blinding light faded. Skyfire had only just left a megacycle earlier to run recon and, with minimized Decepticon activity on the planet, a good portion of the Autobots took it upon themselves to relax while the peace currently had the war at a seemingly quiet standstill. The lax attitudes of the others had come to much of the dismay of uptight mechs like Prowl and Redalert - even Ironhide was aggravated to the extent that he did not have any Decepticons to trash - but there were others like Beachcomber and Jazz who had been almost annoyingly pleased with it. To a degree, Spike had enjoyed it too… That is, until Bluestreak asked him for help when the young gunner learned that Spike had taken Dutch back in the seventh grade.

Whereas ninety-nine point nine percent of the Autobots learned all the world's languages through the World Wide Web - they all had instant access to it through their processors - Bluestreak was the point zero percent that absolutely refused to. Just the brief mention of viruses and the risk of getting them through the internet effectively scared the young bot into not even going as to dare to open his mental browser. This dilemma had created problems of its own though. An area that Bluestreak patrolled around the base had a large settlement of Dutch speaking foreigners that had only recently moved to the United States from Europe. The fact Bluestreak couldn't make heads or tails of what the settlers were trying to say to him when they occasionally called out to his passing irritated the sniper somewhat, but he still downright refused to use his connection to the web to instantly learn the language. Prowl nearly had a conniption when the young gunner asked to have a different patrol route and, with no where else left to go, he finally enlisted Spike's help.

Spike knew _some_ Dutch, but he wasn't fluent with it. That and the fact Bluestreak's horrid, out of living nightmare pronunciations were nearly enough to drive the brunette mad. Carly thought it was downright hilarious whilst Chip merely found it amusing - the wheelchair bound computer geek was far too busy fiddling with his computer work to really acknowledge Spike's crude lessons to Blue - but no one was laughing when the whiteout finally died down.

Spike groaned. "No Blue, that was _not_ Dutch…" He turned around and caught sight of Bumblebee standing nervously from his place on the makeshift, Autobot sized couch before turning to face and address the Volkswagen. "Any idea what that was, Bee?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," the yellow minibot said somewhat unsteadily. "That was some flash…"

Jazz, having previously been occupying himself by listening to Blaster play some music on his alternate-mode's radio, stood to his full height before getting up from the table he was at After Sunstreaker left the room some few cycles earlier with his broken mirror so he could go complain to Optimus about his superstitions, any words resonating from the saboteur had been at a minimum until just then. "Ten credits says that it was Wheeljack's fault."

**iii**

It was ungodly hot but, at the same time, blissfully dark. It took him a few extra moments to realize the darkness shrouding him from his optics being offline. As soon as near full awareness came back to him, he found the strength to put his blue optics back online. He was met with total darkness once more and a rather uncomfortable grainy feeling in his joints. It took him several more moments longer to realize that he was lying face first in sand a gravel. He groaned and activated his online navigation system before asking the computer where he was.

_"Location unknown. Scanners detect that global region is within low precipitation desert."_

Then it came to him.

Starscream sat up slowly, his back groaning in protest, and he spit out a mouthful of sand before. The glare that met his eyes was brilliant and blinding enough that Starscream had to force himself to lower the brightness his optics were allowed to take in by a good fifty-six percent. Even with the drop, he still found himself wincing at the intensity of the bright earth star and the horrific glare it made from the sand of the desert. It was hot, he was still soaked-

A part of his mind clicked back into place and he went headfirst into panic.

_Megatron! Where's Megatron!_

Terror lanced through him when he did not detect his bondmate over their link and he jumped to his feet… or attempted to at least. Sand grinded inside his joints and it forced him to yelp in pain. He fell over headfirst back against the hot ground.

His radio suddenly flared to life. "_Starscream? Screamer, can I ask what the _frag_ just happened?_"

He wasn't sure whether to feel comforted by the low rumble of Thundercracker's voice or bothered by the frustrated tone his trine mate was using. The blue Seeker's tone was more rasped more than usual and Starscream immediately assumed the blue jet had inhaled sand into his intake valves. Nonetheless, at least Starscream wasn't alone. Switching his attention to his communications link for a moment, he tried to get his rising panic back down to a manageable level.

Talking seemed to help but, regardless to the fact, not hearing his mate's reassuring vibes through their shared bondlink frightened Starscream to a great extent. It hurt somewhat to talk and his vocalizer sounded like Ravage had clawed the inside of it like a chew toy.

"I-I was going to ask you the same question!" Starscream physically winced from the horrendous sound his voice produced.

Thundercracker immediately detected the Air Commander's panicked tone, right off the bat and even through the terrible rasp Starscream's voice held. _"Starscream? Starscream, what…" _There was a pause over the link and, as Starscream would have to have guessed, Thundercracker also picked up on why the second-in-command was so on edge. "_Where are you? The rest of us are all together except for you and Megatron. Give us your coordinates and we'll help you find him._"

Starscream, in an attempt to keep his own sanity, tried not to not focus on Megatron so he could address the condition of the others. "Is everyone alright?"

Thundercracker said nothing at first. This greatly concerned Starscream but, before he could interject with questions on the rest of the Decepticon force's status, Thundercracker cut in again. "_Skywarp's out cold from some kind of core processor surge, Soundwave has a migraine-_"

"Soundwave _never_ gets migraines."

"_You're telling _me." Thundercracker's voice sounded overly tired and it apparent that the blue Seeker had probably taken over the Decepticons in the absence of both Megatron and Starscream.

_"Bless that bastard,_" Starscream mused to himself. If there was one thing he knew for a fact, it was that the oldest member of his trine would be the best candidate, and probably the _only_ candidate, for Air Commander if Starscream never made it into the Decepticons ranks himself.

Thundercracker spoke up again. "_Hang tight, Screamer. We're on our way._"

The Seeker cut the link and Starscream was temporarily left alone again. Under the blistering heat of the sun, the flier groaned and tried to stand again. When his gears merely cried out in protest, he forced himself up anyways. His joints flared with such a violent agony that it nearly made him double over again. Despite the fact that Earth was one of the most beautiful planets he had seen since the pictures of Cybertron that existed when there wasn't the time of the Great War, he still hated the sand immensely.

Narrowing his teal eyes from pain, he looked up and tried to scan the horizon. He couldn't see any of his comrades on the horizon yet but, either way, something else caught his sight instead. Against the golden color of the desert's sand, the Seeker could clearly made out the supreme Decepticon commander's pale white plating against its hue.

"_MEGATRON!_"

**iv**

Ramjet glared up at the sky. It was difficult trying to focus with the tiny grains of sand still behind his optic glass but, either way, what he saw was even more irritating than the grit in his joints. "Why is the sun setting in the west? Can somebody _please_ tell me _why_ the sun is setting in the west?"

The Decepticons had traveled a good six miles in under an hour just by walking, though their pointless direction was seemingly getting them nowhere. Flying probably would have been a good option, true, but a good percentage of all of them had enough sand in their joints and gears to make flying seem like a monster of a task. It had been debated that one of them - namely Thundercracker since he was the one mech that had a somewhat good chance of flying without crashing - go get help by looking for a human settlement and calling the military on the phone, but no one was willing to leave the rest of the group while they were all grounded.

Spike, sitting comfortably on Soundwave's shoulder, glanced up at the sky. He almost immediately winced away from the powerful rays of light beating down on his unprotected eyes. After the first half an hour under the hot sun, Thrust had been the first to voice his concern about the humans becoming dehydrated. The observation was forcibly set aside because there wasn't anything they could do about it. The Transformers had watched their human comrades for any signs of weakening from lack of hydration, although the Earthlings hadn't shown any signs of flagging just yet. The tan teen's throat was dry from the lack of water but the general position of the sun just by glancing at made him find it in himself to speak. "It's in the middle of the sky. How can you tell its setting west-?"

"Observation: Sun is setting west by twelve point six degrees," Soundwave droned, stopping dead in his tracks to glare up at the sun.

Ramjet nearly bumped into the communications officer before he managed to stop. Everyone ahead glanced behind them at Soundwave's voice interrupting the silence for the first time since they ended up in the desert.

Carly piped up on Soundwave's shoulder opposite from Spike. She had long since tied her dark ebony hair back with an elastic Frenzy shot at her when she asked if anyone had a spare. She retaliated by throwing on of her right shoe at him and, when he refused to give it back after it collided with his head, Swindle threatened to sell his spare parts to Rumble. Frenzy gave the sneaker back with a grumble and Carly's revenge had come full circle. "That's impossible. Everyone knows the sun sets in the east and rises in the west."

Hook piped up in the front, trailing closely behind Starscream hauling a near unconscious Megatron. "Maybe your navigational compass is offline. A lot of our extra functions are offline from that shockwave and having all this Primus damn sediment in our systems."

Scrapper put a hand up in the air to block the sun's powerful rays and he glared hard at the sky. "No, Soundwave's right. The sun _is_ setting in the west. My navigations system is coming up with the same statistics."

"Mine too," Starscream said slowly in a somewhat strained, tired tone of voice. Megatron hung limply off his shoulders like a sack of cinderblocks and the Decepticon leader still wasn't fully conscious yet. The Decepticon second had declined help from anyone who offered to assist carrying Megatron with him so, watching on with worry, the others couldn't do much to help their temporary leader. In the horrendously humid and nearly unbearable hot air, Starscream looked up to glare at the blue sky. "We're getting nowhere very quickly going at the rate we are. Whatever happened, something is either obviously wrong with us or the world itself."

Ramjet turned his head around to look at the other Seeker curiously. He blinked twice before turning to face the other mech fully. "Say what?"

Starscream was still looking upward like he caught sight of something and was completely engrossed in it. "Think about it, Ramjet. Unless there's something wrong with _all_ of us, our nav systems should not be telling us that the sun is setting in the wrong direction. Now if there's something wrong with the space _around_ us itself, it would explain why our systems won't come back telling us there's something wrong."

There was a collective silence among all the Decepticon soldiers there. Starscream opened his mouth to speak but Thundercracker effectively cut him off.

"Absolutely not. We already discussed this already, Screamer. If anyone of us leaves the group, there's a chance we won't be able to make it back. Nobody gets left behind, remember?"

Starscream turned his head to look at the flier. Skywarp hung limply off his arm with his head downcast and it tore at the Air Commander's spark to see the younger of the two as dead looking as he was. Still, Thundercracker seemed undeterred by it. The blue Seeker stared hard at their temporary leader with his icy hued optics and Starscream tried his best not to flinch. "Thundercracker, it's obvious we're not going to come across a human settlement anytime soon and you know it. We're going to need water for the humans anyways as it is. They can't survive out here longer than two days and we're not going to be anywhere then!"

The older of the Seekers looked about ready to reply. He would have if Chip hadn't decided to pip up.

The wheelchair bound human was being supported against Swindle's chest. He had been without his chair when they woke up in the desert but, with the help of Ravage, they managed to find the lost article buried by some sand. One of the wheels was busted but Swindle assured that he had a spare one lying around in storage on the _Nemesis_ somewhere. Chip's voice was somewhat rasped but he had insisted that he was fine when the others intoned about it earlier. "Thundercracker, Starscream has a point. Carly, Spike, and I are going to need water soon whether or not you realize it. We could get dehydrated and get seriously ill before two days even comes up."

Thundercracker's mouth pressed into a thin line. "But what about-?"

Bonecrusher snapped from the rear of the group. He waves his hand aside in an offhand gesture that cast a dark shadow outward and away from him. "The rest of us can take care of ourselves. Getting somewhere where we can get this sand out of our joints and where the humans can rest is more important than normal protocol. In case you haven't noticed, today isn't exactly normal."

Thrust spoke up. "Dirge and I can take Skywarp. You could take the humans and go looking for someplace where we can call for help."

"We'd be in contact," Starscream offered.

"H-hopefully speaking at l-l-least," Mixmaster muttered. Hook glanced in the other Construction's direction but, aside from that, no one paid attention to him.

Thundercracker looked caught. He shuffled his feet and his brow furrowed with his rising frustration. "I only have room for two passengers."

"Then I'll stay," Chip piped up. Everyone turned their heads to look at him but, before they could interrupt with something, the blonde cut back in. "Look, if anyone else goes down from some sort of mechanical failure in a worst scenario situation, I can help with any repairs that need to be done. I wouldn't be any use here if I went with TC."

Carly broke in. "But what if Thundercracker breaks down and can't fly afterward? _Then_ what?"

Thundercracker shrugged. "There's no point in arguing. Dirge, get your skid plate over here." Even though he only asked for Dirge, Thrust approached as well. It took some gentle nudging on the Thundercracker's part, but he managed to shrug Skywarp off his shoulder so the comatose flier's could be supported between the two coneheads. Stepping back, the blue Seeker regarded his bonded with darkened eyes before turning away. "Carly? Spike?"

Frenzy made a razzing sound and thrust his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll miss Spike, but feel free to take the broad. My head still hurts from her pitch…"

"You'd better pipe down or else I'll throw my other shoe at you," the black haired woman snapped. Frenzy turned to face her on his father's shoulder and he blew a loud, wet sounding raspberry at her. It looked like an ill minded argument, though it was obviously done in jest looking at the way they both grinned at one another afterward.

Rumble smacked his twin over the head. "Save the flirting for Spike, bro."

_"God dammit Rumble!"_ If anyone chose to look at Spike, they would have seen that his face had turned bright red. Carly tried not to look at him and she blushed herself. There were collective chuckles from around grounded Decepticon forces before Thundercracker transformed with a groan.

"I can feel the sand in my engine. If it turns into glass, I'll be as mad as the Pitt. Put 'em in."

"Are you sure about this, Thunder?" Carly's voice was strained with worry even when Hook plucked her and Spike off Soundwave to place them in the Seeker's open cockpit.

Thundercracker revved his engine turbines in a sort of informal nod. There was a very obvious grainy sound inside the Seeker's engine and turbines that momentarily made everyone involuntarily wince. It sounded somewhat painful, though Thundercracker did not let his voice give away that he was in pain. "Not very, though Carly brought up a good point earlier. If I have to make an emergency landing and can't fly after that, what am I supposed to do then?"

"Walk," Starscream said grimly. "It would be better for you to make it as far as you could than be stuck with us. You'll have a better chance of getting help than anybody."

"You must have a lot of faith in me for that," the jet mused closing his hatch. "I'll do my best. _And don't drop Skywarp!_"

Skywarp, who had been sagging between Dirge and Thrust, was immediately straightened between the two jets in a somewhat hurried fashion. Both coneheads had been caught off guard by the oldest member of Starscream's tribe barking at them. Ramjet snickered at his own trine mates until he earned a glare from Thrust. The white Seeker shut up after that.

Spike leaned against the inside of Thundercracker's glass. It was impossible to hear the human's voice over the roar of Thundercracker's spinning turbines, though they could all read his lips easily. _"We'll get help as soon as possible. Take care, guys." _

Starscream nodded. "You too."

With that, Thundercracker let his engines flare to life and he was gone. Sending sand swirling upward in a sandstorm of spiraling columns of gold and tan, the jet shot upwards towards the sky with the crackling of a sonic boom. The sun caught them in its rays and it made them sparkle an eerie shade of gold.

Starscream mused. "Take care."

Megatron suddenly piped up in a groggy tone from his place supported beside his bondmate. "Let's hope that he does. Would someone care to tell me _why_ the sun is setting in the wrong direction and what happened?"

**v**

Highway seventy-eight, an interstate highway that passed between Washington state and Oregon, sat directly beside the expressway police station and trucker refueling stop. The highway patrol headquarters had been set up back in the seventies in response to the high amount of speeding accidents that occurred on seventy-eight. Jon Hancock took the job with all the vigor of a just graduated police academy cop. He would eagerly spend days and days on end monitoring the sides of the interstate for speeding violators with his clocker but, as fifteen years passed, the once eager officer turned into an old potbellied cop. When they finally closed down the interstate for road reconstruction, Jon's enthusiasm to keep up with his career hit an all time low. He moved out from his house and set up a trailer beside the one man station to cut back on the amount of miles he was putting on his cruiser. Aside from the twice every month visits from the Law Enforcement Department - the LED for short - life for the single forty-five year old bachelor got awfully lonely. The crazy woman who worked at the refueling station was hardly one to call decent company.

Lighting another cigarette, Jon ran his free hand through his greasy black hair before tossing his lighter across his desk. His water hadn't been running in the trailer behind the station and, grudgingly, it left him unable to bathe. It wasn't as if this mattered - no one had come into the station since the LED had come to check up on him - so he did not mind. Across from him on the table opposite his office, _Night Rider_ was running an all day marathon. He did not have much of a taste for the show but, when one doesn't have cable, it was the only thing on that was decent. He wasn't willing to damage his masculinity and pride by watching woman's cooking specials.

There was a loud whirring somewhere outside and, faintly, Jon was sure it was a jet of some sort. They commonly passed over the interstate due to the fact a military base wasn't too far away but, oddly enough, the sound did not immediately fade. He was sure it was getting louder.

…Probably a passing jet flying lower than usual. They did that sometimes.

Somewhat aggravated, the cop reached over towards the remote to turn the volume up. The car chase he was watching was starting to get good - he liked car chases to an extent, so he did not want to miss this one - and he hit the volume increase button. A green bar on the monitor filled out with a luminescent emerald to show the volume was at max. It was loud, true, but the highway patrol officer was more bothered about the fact that he could still hear the jet engines. The volume of the spinning turbines suddenly spiked and, with a screaming crash of its own, the entire office began to shake. The window behind him shattered and the television suddenly fell from the stand it was previously supported on. It fell to a floor with an equally shattering sound as the glass hitting the floor behind him.

"_Jesus in hell!_" Jon covered his head and threw himself to the floor. Even though he lived in California for a great deal of his life before moving to Oregon at the age of fourteen, this was the first earthquake he had the chance to live through. A part of him deep down in the pit of his stomach knew the shaking wasn't from tectonic plates shifting though. For one, not only was the police station not anywhere near a fault line, but the building's shaking stopped even before he was on the ground. The screaming of the jet engines hadn't died though. The loud, whirring sound of a plane filtered through the shattered mirror like surface of his office's back window.

Uncovering his head, the mustached man spat out his crushed cigarette and he scrambled for the door. Getting to his feet, he tore it open and ran into the small main lobby that held two holding cells on either side of the walls. They were one filled frequently with speeders who were caught without a license or ragingly drunk nutcases in the station's early days but, as Jon had aged, less and less people occupied those cells. Those cells stayed empty. Through the front screened window of the station, the police officer could make out the very obvious form of a blue and silver F-15 fighter plane practically parked in the middle of the road that branched off to the interstate. Two passengers were scrambling out of the plane.

Jon burst through the front door and his Labrador - tied to one of the posts on the porch - barked insanely in the plane's direction. He could not bring it upon himself to tell the old dog to shut up.

Two teens dressed in everyday clothes and probably no older than nineteen or so years of age jumped off the jet's wings onto the ground. The engine of the plane seemed to die down somewhat on its own even though there was seemingly no one else in the jet's opened cockpit to do so. Much to the cop's surprise as the kids saw and ran up to him, the hatch on the gold colored glass top lowered back into place by itself.

To add onto his surprise, there weren't any U.S. air force logos printed anywhere on the F-15's flank. As well, the jet's color pulled at the strings of his memory hauntingly. Where had he seen a plane painted in such an unusual combination of colors before? He knew it was on the news but couldn't remember what the broadcast was for.

A young woman with dark black hair and young man with a surfer's tan clashingly horribly with his blonde hair clambered up the stairs towards him. They came to a stop no more than two feet from him. "Officer, this is an emergency. We need to use your telephone right away," he said with a loud huff.

The black haired woman nodded. "Where are we?"

Jon Hancock was taken aback by how young they sounded and the fact they seemed like ordinary kids in no way associated with the military. He wondered stupidly if jet fliers had licenses but, before he could ask them what they were doing piloting a jet without any indication that it belonged to the air force, he gestured over his shoulder stupidly. "Uh, yeah… you're right on the interstate between Oregon and Washington State. Highway seventy-eight. The phone's right on the desk inside."

Both the kids looked relieved. They pushed past him to get inside and it left the cop with a full view of the jet. The engines were continuing to die down and he could see the old crazy lady who ran the truck stop coming out to investigate. He wondered if any of her windows were broken from the jet's boomingly loud engines.

He turned on his heel to follow the kids inside.

The girl hung up the phone and put it to her ears again with a frustrated growl. "Spike, there's still no tone!"

The boy cursed. He was by the wall where the phone was plugged in. He stood back up with a chewed cable in his hands. "Looks like mice got to it, Carly."

Jon cleared his throat and spoke up. "Can I ask exactly who you two are?"

Both of the kids snapped their heads around to look at him. Jon momentarily wished that he still had running water - if he knew he was getting company, he would have gone to extra mile to have made sure that he had a shower - but it dawned on him a moment later that the phone hadn't been working for quite sometime. He never bothered to get it fixed for the reason that the LED never made it mandatory that he do so. Before he could think further though, Carly rushed up to him. "Please, this could be a life or death situation. We need to get in contact with the military _immediately."_

"Do you have a radio?" Spike voice was somewhat wavered. "A one way that couldn't be picked up by anyone else but who we're calling. It's urgent."

He did not but it dawned on Jon Hancock that he had an Autobot emergency broadcast radio on the back shelf behind the desk. They became mandatory in all police stations a year after the Autobots arrived to Earth and, up until now, Jon never felt inclined to use it. The radio was meant only to be used by authorized personnel in case of a Decepticon attack or sighting but, in this case, the cop felt inclined to make an exception this once. If two kids who were piloting a jet with no ownership markings wanted immediate help for some reason, Jon knew damn well that it had to be for something very important. His heart started to pound when he told them to use the emergency radio on the back shelf.

"Thank you," Carly said hurriedly when she rushed around the desk counter to the other side.

Spike looked at her when she passed before moving up towards Jon. He ruffled his bleached blonde hair and he grinned somewhat. His face was covered with sand and dirt like he had been walking through it for an hour and not flying in a jet. "What she said."

"Can I ask who you two are or are you going to make me question you?" Truth be told, Jon had never questioned or interrogated anyone before. Still, his heat's erratic pounding in his chest was getting to him. "What are you two kids doing with a jet parked out in the middle of the street?"

The black haired woman gave a loud, piercing shriek.

Both men turned in her direction in alarm. Carly had flung herself away from the back shelf and she bumped against the desk with enough force to send the telephone crashing to the ground. It gave a weak ring before going silent and Spike rushed to her side immediately. With a cry of his own, he leapt away from the radio like he had been bitten. "Holy _shit._"

Jon rushed over. "What!" He half expected to see a rotting dead mouse - it would explain where the mouse that chewed on the wire had gone - but all he saw when he looked at what both kids were staring at was the radio. Adorned on its front was the Autobot's crimson red insignia and, to the cop's further confusion, he could not see anything that would have caused the kids to react the way they had. Anyone who did not know about the Autobots was either a hermit or just plain lacked a television. Considering the two teens were piloting a jet, he doubted it could be either.

Carly's hand went over her mouth and her eyes were wide with what looked to be fear. Jon would have asked what was wrong if a fist did not connect with his mouth.

Jon Hancock staggered backwards without even finding the time to cry out before he hit the floor. He whacked his head hard enough against the floor to make his head spin and, somewhere outside, the dog started to bark again. He would have told the beast to shut his trap if his head wasn't reeling.

Spike's voice was angry. "I thought cops were supposed to _protect_ people! How long have you been working with the Autobots!"

Jon managed to look up to see the blonde man standing over him with obviously upset eyes. Carly was standing behind him with her mouth still covered. With a grunt, he tried to sit up realizing that the situation turned hostile. "I hardly even know the Autobots! The government made it mandatory that all police stations have a way to contact them in case of a Decepticon attack!"

Spike roared with rage. "How _dare_ you say that! The Decepticons would never hurt _anybody!_"

"The government…" Carly's muse seemingly fell on the deaf ears of her friend. Jon heard but, despite that, he couldn't bring himself to care. Spike was poised over him in a threatening position and all those years he spent in the police academy kicked into gear. Hancock reached down towards his utility belt to draw his gun. Fumbling to get it out of his holster, Carly seemed to see what it was he was doing and her eyes widened. She took her hand away from her lips to grab her friend by his trembling arm. "_Spike, _RUN!"

Spike was jerked off his feet when his black haired partner yanked him aside. Jon was only going to aim his gun at them for good measure - they said you were supposed to do that in the police academy when dealing with potentially hostile individuals - but the fact they were running left him with no other choice but to stop them. He drew his PP7 and aimed the best he could with his still throbbing head before firing at their retreating feet.

The first time he missed. The shot hit the wooden floor and it send splinters of wood flying up everywhere. Smoke resonated from the place the speeding bullet struck but, before the two kids could fleer, he quickly readjusted his aim and fired again. This time his shot was accurate. Blood erupted from the place he hit on Spike's ankle and the jeans fabric there was torn. The teen gave out a mighty shriek before he tumbled forward and crashed into his friend. They both fell through the door with a crash.

Carly screamed. "_THUNDERCRACKER!_"

A new voice, gravely and deep, called out. It made the Jon's toes curl. "Carly? I thought I heard a gunshot! What's wrong with-_OW! _Lady, quit throwing cans at me! My joints hurt enough already without you tossing slag at them! For the last time, _I am NOT_ going to steal your fuel!"

Spike gave another howling shriek and Jon heard a loud thud like something whipping about to face the direction of the scream.

"TC, get us _out of here!_"

Jon had to move _now._

The cop hauled himself to his feet and he ran for the door to cut the kids off. The dog was still barking madly and, when the police officer charged out the screen door, he could see why. He stopped dead in his tracks and just about nearly dropped his gun when he saw the huge robot in place where the jet should have been. The Lab snarled with his tail between his legs at its hulking form while the crazy lady threw canned food at the backs of the robot's legs. The blue Transformer snapped his head down to look at him with narrowed eyes. Jon was too horrorstricken to realize they were a teal blue.

Two large purple insignias stood out against the white and red trim of his wings. With a start, he realized he found the jet familiar because it was a Decepticon.

As both kids rushed forward towards the Decepticon - said Seeker beginning to transform back into his alternate-mode to provide the children with an escape - Jon dropped his gun and raced back inside. The gun went off from hitting the ground but, regardless, it wasn't as if it mattered. Jon nearly tripped over his legs jumping around the desk counter and he grabbed the mouthpiece for the emergency Autobot contact radio. His heart raced a mile a minute when he pulled back the side cover to smash the contact button in.

As soon as the jet engine's roar made another loud boom that was enough to break even more windows in the station, he heard the conformation beep and he stuttered. "This is Jon Hancock from the seventy-eight interstate highway station to the Autobots. I have a reported Decepticon sighting…"

**vi**

Deep down, Optimus was glad that the only reason the base's alarms suddenly went off was because Skyfire was calling. Redalert seemed aggravated but, regardless, Wheeljack and Ratchet seemed to be in silent agreement with Optimus. Optimus told his engineer and medic to fill Red in on what happened with the whiteout before he addressed Skyfire's image on the console screen. "This is an emergency link only, Skyfire."

"_So, if having an unbearably bright light flashed in your face while you're flying _isn't_ anything along the lines of a near emergency, then what _is?"The space shuttle's voice was somewhat aggravated and Optimus could not help but feel sorry that Red had yelled at him. The more recent members to the Autobot ranks seemed slightly taken aback like someone had scolded at him. No doubt due to Redalert's reproach for using the emergency array.

Optimus cut back in. "My mistake then. What were you doing before then? You have some scuff marks on your shoulder."

The mech's blue eyes flashed and he looked down at himself. "_I just took out Starscream and his flier cronies about a half megacycle ago. Skywarp clawed up my chassis pretty good, but it's nothing serious. I would have called sooner about the flash but my radio was busted when Starscream hit me with one of his null rays. It's taken me up until not to fix it._"

Redalert's voice rose up from somewhere behind him. "_The twins did WHAT?_"

Optimus felt the all too tall tale signs of a migraine threatening to make his processors implode. Hearing the way the Red's voice rose in pitch towards the end of his exclamation, the Prime realized it was probably a bad idea to let Wheeljack try to help Ratchet explain to what happened.

Sunstreaker exclaimed from across the room. "_It was Sideswipe's fault!_"

"_Frag you bro!_"

Skyfire raised an optic ridge. _"Optimus? What's going on?"_

The Prime's face turned grim. "We're… not entirely sure."

Then another alarm went off.

Skyfire seemed to jump in place hearing the blaring whir of the emergency alarm system kicking back into gear."_I didn't touch anything Optimus!_"

"What _now?_" Bumblebee came back into the room - he had left when it was apparent that the emergency siren was signaling nothing more than a false alarm - and following behind him this time was Spike and Carly. Trailing behind them at a slightly slower pace was Chip trying to keep something in his lap from falling off while he rolled his wheelchair. Jazz trailed in behind him and Optimus realized the paraplegic human was working on Jazz's radio.

Sunstreaker cackled and pointed an accusing finger in the saboteur's direction. "_Ha!_ Who doesn't believe in bad luck _now!_"

Jazz, being one who could be nasty if he did not have his music, lived up to that role by flipping the sunshine yellow Lamborghini the birdie. Sunny flashed the human gesture right back before Prowl came in, caught _him_ making the gesture, and crossed the room to promptly smack the Lamborghini over the head despite the fact that Jazz had done it first.

Ignoring the prominent clang of his second hitting Sunstreaker over the head and the curse that followed, Optimus tapped a code on the console. "Teletran-One?"

_"An emergency beacon has been activated at coordinates 23-36. Patching in message relay…" _

The alarms stopped blaring and a good portion of the base's Autobots began to pour in even as the message was played back. The background noise that filtered through the speakers was the very obvious whir of a jet flying further away from the radio message source.

"_This is Jon Hancock from the seventy-eight interstate highway station to the Autobots. I have a reported Decepticon sighting… a big jet, light blue with some red trim on the wings. I didn't stay out long enough to get a great view of him. I didn't realize he was a Decepticon right away because he didn't transform right off. He landed and these two kids jumped out of the cockpit asking me for help._"

There was a collective bout of surprise among the Autobots. A good portion of the room glanced about at each other and Optimus saw Wheeljack and Ratchet give each other a very hard look. The Autobot leader did not turn away from the monitor in fear that his solemn expression would bother the others.

Jon kept rambling. "_These two, they came in saying they needed a phone to call the military for something. Said it was an emergency and probably a life or death situation. I don't know if these kids were taken hostage or something, but they freaked when I told them to use this radio. Some mice chewed through the telephone wires. They, uh, wigged seeing the Autobot insignia on the radio and the male suspect of the two gave me a nice right hook in the face. He said the Decepticons wouldn't hurt a fly or something like that._"

Again, there was a very tense and collective silence. Aside from the whirs of intake cycles and the crackling of the radio, no one said a word.

"_So then I drew my gun to keep the kid from assaulting me. The girl grabbed the boy's arm and they both tried to flee. I had to stop them so I shot the male suspect in the foot. They fell through the door and, when I ran after them to give chase, the jet had turned into a giant robot. The female suspect told him to get them out of there and she called him, uh, Thundercracker. I think it was Thundercracker, anyways. I might have heard wrong._"

Skyfire objected loudly from his place on the monitor. "_What? I scrapped him and the rest of the trine! Thundercracker should be completely out of commission!_"

"Quiet!" Optimus objected. He had not meant to use the tone that he did but, regardless, stress was beginning to get the better of him. Skyfire closed his mouth but his lips pressed to form a very thin line. His jaw was set tightly with mounting frustration.

Jon made a very obvious swallowing sound, made an offhand remark that he needed a cigarette, and he spoke again. "_After that, I came inside and called. Whether or not the kids are hostages, one of them is bleeding. They said their names were… aw shit, it sounded like Spike or Carly or something like that._"

Now, instead of everyone looking at one another, all optics immediately snapped down towards the two humans in the room of the same name.

Before Jon could continue, Optimus decided that he had heard enough. He cut the radio link and looked towards Skyfire. "Where are you now? Are you anywhere where the coordinates were given?"

The shuttle nodded. "_I'm very close actually. Do you want me to go investigate the source of the transmission?_"

"No," Prime said with the slight shake of his head. "Bypass it completely. I and the rest of the Autobots will investigate the source. I want you to go after our supposed Decepticon. Don't engage him until we can figure out if he has human hostages."

Skyfire's jaw tightened again. "_Yes sir, Optimus._"

The shuttle cut off the link and Spike exclaimed loudly afterward. "But Carly and I are right here! It has to be a coincidence that there are two other people who called themselves that!"

"Too much of a coincidence," Prowl drawled from across the room.

Optimus agreed with him. The Prime turned to his engineer and he nodded in his direction. "Wheeljack? Would you mind explaining to everyone what you told me about the purple and red rubber balls and that machine of yours? Then tell them what happened in the lab before the whiteout happened."

**vii**

His online computer beeped.

Even when they were at their base under the ocean, Teletran-One would usually always forward transmissions directly to Optimus Prime for security reasons. Living on board the sunken _Ark_ with a relatively large group of treacherous mechs was dangerous enough as it was and, with a good portion of al those mechs discreetly striving for leadership, the cruel Prime made it a personal matter that he received messages before anyone else. A red light blinked in the corner of his vision and he snarled pulling his fist away from Wheeljack's smashed facial plates. "Teletran-One?"

_"An emergency beacon has been activated at coordinates 23-36. Patching in message relay…" _

Prowl, having long since had his damages from his earlier beating on by Optimus repaired, piped up from behind the Autobot leader. "An emergency beacon? Isn't that like the ones that the humans use if they want to call the _Decepticons?" _

Optimus glared over his shoulder and gave the police cruiser a long, menacing look. He dropped Wheeljack and the mad scientist collapsed to the ground in unconsciousness. Since coming back to consciousness after the whiteout in the desert, Optimus had immediately approached the scientist to demand what had happened. On top of the fact that the nuclear weapon had failed to destroy Megatron on its trial use, Wheeljack not being able explain what had happened had sent the vicious Prime into a beating frenzy. Wheeljack would live but, consequently, no one was going to offer to carry him if they moved. Among Autobots, if there was a straggler, they would be left behind.

Optimus stood to his full, intimidating height and he narrowed his crimson hued eyes towards the sun. A sun, curiously enough, that was setting in a direction that he wasn't used to. "All of you, quiet!"

"_This is Jon Hancock from the seventy-eight interstate highway station to the Autobots. I have a reported Decepticon sighting… a big jet, light blue with some red trim on the wings. I didn't stay out long enough to get a great view of him. I didn't realize he was a Decepticon right away because he didn't transform right off. He landed and these two kids jumped out of the cockpit asking me for help._"

Bluestreak drew his sniper and chuckled lowly. "It sounds like Thundercracker's flying solo with the Decepticons' pet humans. It's not like him to be anywhere without his little mutt of a partner but… why are they calling _us? _Shouldn't the organics be calling the Decepticons to let them know about _us_ and not the other way around?" He started to mutter incoherently in Dutch.

Ironhide started to cackle. "Maybe the humans are finally realizing that they can't beat us! You know what they say Blue! If you can't beat 'em, _join 'em!_"

Optimus turned, aimed his cannon at Ironhide, and the red van immediately shut up. The red mech's equally scarlet optics widened in fear and he looked too frozen in place to move. Optimus never fired, though he kept his weapon's crosshairs trained on the warrior in case he tried to speak again.

"_These two, they came in saying they needed a phone to call the military for something. Said it was an emergency and probably a life or death situation. I don't know if these kids were taken hostage or something, but they freaked when I told them to use this radio. Some mice chewed through the telephone wires. They, uh, wigged seeing the Autobot insignia on the radio and the male suspect of the two gave me a nice right hook in the face. He said the Decepticons wouldn't hurt a fly or something like that._ _So then I drew my gun to keep the kid from assaulting me. The girl grabbed the boy's arm and they both tried to flee. I had to stop them so I shot the male suspect in the foot. They fell through the door and, when I ran after them to give chase, the jet had turned into a giant robot. The female suspect told him to get them out of there and she called him, uh, Thundercracker. I think it was Thundercracker, anyways. I might have heard wrong._"

"So then the other Decepticons must be hurt," Ratchet said slowly. "That would explain why Thundercracker isn't with them."

The organic made a very made a disgusting sound, made an offhand remark that he needed a cigarette, and the human spoke again. "_After that, I came inside and called. Whether or not the kids are hostages, one of them is bleeding. They said their names were… aw shit, it sounded like Spike or Carly or something like that._"

Optimus cackled. "So, the Decepticons and their human pets are here too…" His crimson eyes narrowed further towards the pale, pale blue sky with mirth rather than aggravation. "If one of the humans is hurt, Thundercracker will more than likely return them to the rest of the Decepticons than leave them with humans that are seemingly against them. Interesting… not only is the sun setting in the wrong direction, but everything else seems to be in reverse as well."

Ironhide spoke up. "Are you sayin' that the humans here, wherever we are, think the _Decepticons_ are trying to hurt 'em? That must mean that they think we're _not!_"

Optimus cackled. "This is an opportunity Autobots…" He turned to the rest of his group save for Wheeljack and he grinned viciously behind his faceplate. Hefting his arm and fist high into the air, he held his cannon up high and laughed. "Let's use it! _Transform_ and _roll out!"_

With that they did. With cackles fit for a pack of hyenas, they all shifted to their respectful vehicle-modes. Revving their engines and sending dust up in all directions, they switched to their highest gears before speeding off. All of them fell in line behind their leader and dared not drive past him. While they all left, Wheeljack was left lying near dead in the sand. He would stay there for two more days before finally getting up and wandering away like a wounded beast.

**viii**

Spike had stopped screaming but, either way, it did nothing to stop the immense rush of blood coming from his ankle.

Thundercracker's cockpit was coated with the thick, coppery odor of blood that hung in the air like low storm clouds. The humid hotness within the cockpit did not make the situation any more comfortable. Holding the edge of the ripped fabric that she tore from her shirt against Spike's shot foot, Carly looked up at the ceiling of the cockpit with wide horrorstricken eyes. "We need to get him to a hospital, Thunder! Jesus, he's bleeding _everywhere!" _

Thundercracker's voice was a somewhat panicked rumble. "I'd love to hun, but I don't even know where one _is_. My navigational system is still scrap and it would be too risky leaving him with anymore humans that might try to hurt him. If a cop tried to shot at you for being associated with Decepticons, then imagine what a whole group of humans would do!"

Carly made a frustrated sound, balled her free hand, and she slammed her fist on the inside of the cockpit's yellow glass. Such a movement would not even bother the huge air warrior but, either way, Carly felt bad for hitting the inside of one of her friend afterward. Her voice felt like it was going to crack when she spoke again. "Dammit TC, what's going on?"

Spike game a weak whimper. "Yeah Thunder, any ideas?"

"Kids, if I knew, trust me when I say that I would tell you."

The inside of the jet's pilot chamber was suddenly blaring with beeping emergency alarms.

Carly snapped to attention and Spike cried out when she moved her hands too roughly against his damaged ankle. Her dark brown eyes were wide with fear. "_Thundercracker_…"

Several switches on the inside console twitched and data was brought up on the screen, but the beeping pressed on with just as much urgency as it had when it first started. Another one began to wail from behind and, for a horrifying moment, Carly thought the warrior's engines were failing. Her fears were proved false when she saw the Seeker bring up his short range radar on screen. It wasn't enough to detect and pinpoint where they were on a map, but it usually only came on when the Seeker's onboard early warning systems picked up a following object.

Carly pressed on. "What is it!"

There was another beeping sound and she saw an Autobot symbol on the edge of the screen. Her heart sank and adrenaline pumped through her body faster than a crashing car.

Thundercracker cursed loudly in Cybertronian. "It's Skyfire! Everyone hold…" But he stopped himself mid-sentence. Carly could understand why too, because they could not strap Spike in with his injury. If the Seeker tried to make any emergency maneuvers now, both humans would either be killed or seriously hurt. If they tried to strap themselves in, Spike risked bleeding to death without his bleeding appendage being raised. The Seeker cursed again and tried to speed up. "Damn it all to… I knew leaving the rest of the group was a bad idea! But does anyone _ever_ listen to me? _Nooo…" _

Spike, through his obvious pain, tried to sound optimistic. "Skyfire's not the brightest of the Autobots. Being frozen in the Artic screwed up his logic chips, remember? He probably doesn't even know we're here."

"And if he does, he'll scrap us as soon as he can get a clear shot. His temper and firepower makes up for his lack of intelligence," the Seeker retorted. On the radar screen, Skyfire's energy signature was getting closer. Considering Thundercracker was somewhat sped up from the rate of velocity he was traveling before, it was immediate indication that Skyfire had increased his own speed too. This, to the Decepticon's and humans' horror, meant that he was giving chase.

"Jesus Christ in _hell," _Carly moaned.

Spike looked at Thundercracker's console with pain glazed eyes. "Are we in range for contacting the others?"

Thundercracker said nothing at first. After a tense second of silence, he groaned in a similar fashion Carly had. "I can't. We're not close enough and the sand lodged in my systems is still blocking my message relay center. We have to get closer to them before we can get their signal and it's faint enough as it is."

The alarms started to go off again. Skyfire was less than three hundred feet to their left but, through the cloud cover, it was too difficult to see. The shuttle was coming closer - the radar warned of this - but it was increasingly distressing that they couldn't see him at all. Thundercracker tried to speed up but something made the engine give a loud, shattering pop.

Carly screamed when the jet seemingly hit turbulence. Thundercracker grunted in pain and Spike cried out. "What happened!"

"Glass buildup. I can't go any faster than this. Even if I tried to give myself a sonic boom boost, the shards would get caught in my engine. My engine would explode if we did that."

They suddenly cleared the clouds and all three of them caught sight of Skyfire.

The shuttle stood out like a white dot on blue paper and he veered somewhat to fly closer to Thundercracker. Carly and Spike stared in mute horror at the oncoming second most dangerous Autobot to the entire Aerialbot crew themselves and Thundercracker shuddered all over with a violent tremble. It felt like they hit turbulence again but the consideration that even the cockpit seats seemed to be vibrating made it obviously otherwise. Neither of the humans could blame the blue Seeker for his show in fear.

Surprisingly though, Skyfire did not open fire. Instead, the radio channel opened and Skyfire's voice came through.

"_Alright Thundercracker, pull over! I don't know how you managed to get back in working order after I slagged you and your trine, but leave the humans out of it. Let them go and I won't shoot you down later!_"

Carly blinked twice before she looked down at Spike to see his reaction. He blinked too, though not without letting his mouth press into a thin line. He cocked his head up to look at her with a questioning expression before speaking. "Uh… _what_ did Skyfire say?"

Thundercracker mused. "Alright, first we get blasted into the middle of the desert, _then_ the sun sets in the wrong direction, then a cop tries to call the Autobots for help, and _now_ Skyfire is acting like I'm a kidnapper and he's _not_ a serial killer! _What the slag is going on!_"The Seeker suddenly snarled viciously and frustration radiated off him like heat would come from a furnace.

Carly reached a hand forward to run it over the front of the console. She wasn't sure if it would work for Thundercracker but, in the past while she had flown inside Astrotrain and Skywarp, it usually calmed them down if passengers made contact with the front dash. The blue Seeker trembled from the touch and the console lights blinked. Before he could ask what she was doing, she spoke. "Try to scan the area for the Decepticons so you can get in radio contact with them. Leave dealing with Skyfire to me. Open a channel so I can talk to him."

Skyfire's voice came over the radio. "_I can see the humans in your cockpit, Deceptiscum! Let them go or else I might have to call for assistance! We can either do this the easy way or the hard way!_"

Spike looked at Carly. "You want to try _talking_ to him! How are we supposed to reason with a lunatic Autobot!"

"If he's a lunatic Autobot, then why has he not shot us yet? If he really wanted to kill us, he would have done that already." Carly rubbed her thumb against the console before tapping twice. "Are you still with us, Thunder?"

"Yeah."

"Think about this, TC. Like you said, everything seems to be backwards. Has it ever dawned on you that _we_ might be what's in reverse?"

Thundercracker went silent for a moment. "…What are you getting at?"

"You saw how Skywarp reacted before that light blinded all of us," she tried to reason with a grim voice. "He has a very acute sense of the space time continuum. Has if ever dawned on you that that light might have been a blast that sent us into another dimension?"

Spike snapped. "That's _bogus!_ Where the hell did you come up with that random explanation!"

"No," Thundercracker said. "No Spike, she might be right. Carly, do the honors of telling this guy off. Tell him to follow us for all I care. If he wanted to shoot us down, Primus knows he would have done that by now. I have a clear frequency I can use to contact the others now."

Spike nodded. "Will do, TC. I just hope we know what we're getting ourselves into…"

A red light on the console turned green and there was the familiar crackle of static. Carly hit a button beneath it and she spoke loudly. "Skyfire, this is Carly Fox, one of many human allies of the Decepticons…"

**ix**

There was a communications that the _Nemesis_ detected that came, oddly enough, from Thundercracker. The only problem with that was that Thundercracker was standing in the room when the console chimed that he was the one trying to contact the base from the earth's surface. The entire Decepticon headquarters had been in panic ever since the whiteout hit and the panic inside the command center escalated to off-guard confusion.

Skywarp had been scanning the outside ocean depths when he heard the computer say who the message relay was from. "This is getting weirder and weirder… Thundercracker's standing right next to me!"

The blue Seeker beside him only stared at the monitor with a duped stupor.

Starscream looked at the monitor reading out who was trying to contact the base long and hard. The damage he had sustained from Megatron's most recent form of punishment was evident enough as it was, but it was healed enough from emergency care that the Seeker could walk upright. "I don't understand any of this! _What's going ON!" _

"You idiot! Out of the way!" Megatron shoved past his second and tapped the console. "Soundwave, trace this transmission. I want to know _exactly_ who this is coming from."

"Observation: And where else it is going," the radio droned in a heavy monotone. Megatron blinked his optics and turned to look at the communications officer, but the navy blue Decepticon responded before the tyrant could ask what he meant. "Explanation: Radio message is also being received elsewhere. Tracing indicates the location of the other receiving end is in a desert between the Oregon and Washington State borders. Coordinates are 267-25A."

Megatron scowled. "That would only happen if we had any other units out there. Everyone is accounted for in the base."

"But then why is Thundercracker, who is obviously inside the base, trying to contact us!" To make his point, Starscream jerked his hand and pointed a finger accusingly at his blue wingmate's direction.

Megatron looked ready to backhand him, but the Seeker flinched away before the tyrant would strike him. Megatron scowled deeply. "You're an idiot Starscream. We'll see soon enough though. Open the radio link-"

"Interruption: Link has already been opened by party in desert."

"Eh?"

Thundercracker's voice suddenly came through the radio.

_"Screamer? Hey, is anybody there! Mayday, mayday, the kids and I ran into trouble and we're in a world of bad right now."_

Then, to everyone's further surprise - and very much intense surprise - Megatron's voice filtered in through the link. What came to more of a surprise was the tone of voice.

_"Thundercracker! By the Pitt, are you alright!" _

_"Megs! I should be asking you the same question!" _

_"Never mind me,"_ the tyrant's voice said in an offhand tone. His voice took on a much more worried one. _"What's going on? You sound flustered."_

_"We found a human settlement, a police station, and the officer there had a radio like the ones we gave to the humans if they ever needed to contact us. Except this radio was made especially for contacting the Autobots." _

There was a sudden outburst on the other end of the link. There was a great deal of background noise and the Megatron copy called out to whoever it was that was making the outburst. His tone was oddly gentle.

"Does someone wanna explain what the frell is going on," Frenzy asked. No one answered him and the rest of the command center remained silent.

_"Someone _please_ calm Starscream down,"_ the Megatron on the radio link demanded. He addressed Thundercracker again. _"What happened after that?" _

_"Nothing much, except the cop shot Spike when he and Carly tried to flee." _

_"WHAT! Spike, is he alright!" _

_"He's bleeding badly. I hope Chip knows first-aid, but the problems don't end there. Skyfire's chasing us. He hasn't opened fire yet but… Boss, you're not going to believe this when I tell you. Remember that bright light?" _

_"Yes."_

_"Everything seems to be backwards here. The sun is setting in the west instead of the east and the humans seem to think that the Autobots aren't their enemies. Carly thinks that whiteout wasn't just as light. She thinks we got blasted into an alternate dimension. The way Skywarp reacted before the whiteout makes the theory plausible."_

There was a very eerie silence over the link.

Thundercracker spoke again. _"The Skyfire that's chasing us now might be an inhabitant of this world. He thinks I'm trying to kidnap the humans. Should I lure him towards us so we can get to the bottom of this?" _

Megatron's voice cut back in. _"Go ahead with that, Thundercracker. Use your radio to trace our position and find us. We'll be waiting."_

_"Thank you sir. ETA, five cycles." _

The link was suddenly cut off and all the Decepticons present in the command center could only bring it upon themselves to stare.

Megatron broke the silence. "Soundwave, what is the percent possibility that the message relay was a hoax?"

The cassette player did not respond right away. All optics switched from the computer console to him and all eyes, mostly hued crimson, regarded him with an uttermost intensity. Even his own creations looked up to him with equally confused gazes before the communications officer replied. "…Zero point one percent. Message is genuine."

"So, if there are Decepticons from an alternate reality now in this universe, we could join forces to crush the Autobots!" Starscream's shrill exclamation no doubt had something to do with ruling over the new Decepticon faction but, before the Seeker Air Commander could put any more of his input forth, Megatron cut him off.

The tyrant's voice was somewhat softer than usual. It was only noticeable unless one paid an incredible amount of attention to it. Unlike the voice of the Megatron from the transmission though - holding a caring undertone that was eerily similar to Optimus Prime's - the Megatron that stood before them still had his menacing gravely voice. "Decepticons, lock onto those coordinates. We're going to great our new guests…"

The room was silent for a moment longer before things finally sank in. The cassetteticons retreated back to Soundwave while the triple-changers and coneheads prepared to move towards the docking bay. The Constructions followed suit with Swindle trailing almost conspicuously behind. Even while Megatron moved to follow, though slightly slower than he probably would have, Thundercracker still stood by the monitor with a blank expression on his face. Though he probably wasn't in the position to do so, Skywarp put a hand on his wingmate's shoulder in an attempt to bring him out of his daze. "TC?"

The blue jet whipped around in place to face his purple counterpart. Red eyes locked onto red and the two regarded each other for a moment.

Skywarp let his mouth press into a tight line. "Yo, Thundercracker, are you okay? You look like you're in the middle of a reboot or something."

"Did someone say I wasn't?"

The two Seekers were friends - they had been close in stark comparison to the rest of the Decepticons - but they still had their general rules. If Thundercracker wasn't going to tell him what was wrong, then Skywarp just would not press for information. It was how their partnership worked and how it would always. Still, it did not mean the purple teleport did not worry about his blue companion. He squeezed Thundercracker's shoulder and tried to offer a grin. "Hey, put it this way Thunder. Now there are two good looking versions of me and two good looking versions of you walking around now. You can't tell me that's worth worrying over."

Thundercracker shook his head. "It's not that, 'Warp."

"Then what is?" Starscream hadn't left to follow the rest of the fleet and, since the conversation between the two began, the silver and red Seeker had been eavesdropping on his two wingmates for sometime. The dark faced Air Commander approached the two with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "Even though you and Skywarp can play whatever games you like, I'm not playing. Something has you spooked Thundercracker and I demand you tell me."

Skywarp gave the other Seeker a glare. "Drop it, Screamer. If TC isn't comfortable saying anything, don't make him."

"No," Thundercracker said in a monotone. His two wingmates turned their heads to look at him with equally bright, scarlet optics. Even though he was put on the spot, the blue Seeker did a tremendous job keeping his cool. "Look, it's not that I'm spooked, but something about this really bothers me. On the radio, the Megatron we head talked like Optimus. He did not snap, did not bark, and he was even _concerned_ when my doppelganger said that he and his… human companion was hurt. Pitt, he acted like my doppelganger was his son. He sounded even more courageous than Optimus. He's probably even more stupid in the head than Prime, but that's just the start of it."

Starscream glared. "What's to worry about then?"

"What really worries me is what Optimus' doppelganger is like. And if my personal interpretation of him is right, then I really hope he didn't get sent here like _our_ doppelgangers did."

**x**

Jon heard something outside the police station. Unlike the Decepticon's jet turbines, this was a more familiar sound. Like the trucks that revved outside the station at night from across the street at the fueling stop, it was the welcoming sound of car engines.

He had been huddled over the emergency radio for a whole half hour now and he did not dare to leave it for a moment. There were seconds that he wondered if he had imagined the whole scenario with the two teenage kids coming into the station, but then he would see the bullet hole in the floor from his first missed shot. After that, he'd see that the phone was on the floor from being knocked off the counter and he'd catch sight of the glass still glinting off the floor from the broken windows. Finally, of course, there were the all too apparent marks on the road where the Decepticon's feet crushed the asphalt.

But now he could put that in the past. The Autobots were coming.

Standing up, Jon Hancock walked around the counter and shuffled towards the door. His head was still sore from being hit against the floor, his insides still felt like rubber from the adrenaline rush he had firing his gun - a weapon, he would fully admit, that he never fired in a real life-death situation before - and seeing the monstrous hulking form the Decepticon right outside his station. Crossing the main lobby area past the two cells on either wall, he pushed the screen door open and walked onto his porch to look down the road to his right.

There was the very unmistakable glint of cars on the horizon. At the head was a very large flat nosed truck.

The dog started to whine.

Jon turned his head away from the oncoming group of Autobots to stare down at his dog still tied up on the porch. Kipling was a fourteen year old Labrador that his sister used to own before she had to give him away in moving to Europe to research geology. Emily said that he was a smart dog but, in Jon's personal perspective, the old beast was dumber than a rusted, headless doornail. The dog's eyes were always glazed with a sort of stupidity and there were times that the cop was sure that the dog couldn't tell the difference between his name and he command to sit. Still, the dog did have his methods of communication. If Kipling ever wanted to go inside, he would just whimper.

Considering the poor chocolate lab had to see a giant robot stand no more than twenty feet from him - and with no way to hide himself - Jon was near positive the dog knew more robots were coming and wanted no part of it. He wanted to go inside where it was safe. Kipling stared up at him with idiocy glazed eyes and he shifted his weight from one set of paws to the other.

Jon shook his head. "Fine, you can go in. Geez, I thought guard dogs were supposed to have dignity…" The police officer knelt down to unhook the dog from the chain keeping him tied to the porch railing. The chocolate furred dog looked into Jon's eyes when he squatted down to the dog's level and that was when Jon noticed something off.

Instead of the beast's eyes being glazed with idiocy, a look of what the cop thought to be fear was reflected in the gold colored irises instead. As soon as he unhooked the chain from the dog's collar, Kipling suddenly bolted.

When usually unhooked, he would slowly waddle over to the door to wait until Jon opened the door for him. This time however, the scenario was different. Instead of moving sluggishly like he usually did in his old age, Kipling suddenly charged past Jon with enough strength and force to knock the cop onto his ass. Hancock grunted and fell onto his back as the old Labrador leapt down the stairs, banked with enough sharpness to send dirt flying up in his wake, and Kipling ran around the station towards the desert behind it. Not waiting for anything, the dog kept running and never slowed.

Jon jumped back to his feet and ran down the stairs of the porch. "Kipling! God _dammit_ Kipling, _get back here!"_ He ran past the porch and stopped short of watching the old dog gaining distance from the police station. Jon ran a hand through his greasy, unwashed hair in a frustrated manner knowing he would never catch up with the dumb mutt. The frustration turned into a brief, fleeting moment of minor fright.

Kipling looked _scared_. He dog had his cowardly spells, but even Jon had to admit it was never like the old dog to be as terrified as he had looked. Dogs could sense danger, after all.

The sound of engines rising, Jon slowly turned around to see the Autobots approaching. The metal hides of their alternate forms gleamed with an air that had nothing to do with chivalry and, to the man's discomfort, there was something amiss about the way Optimus Prime lead the group in front. His form was hulking in an ominous way and it appeared the rest of the group was suddenly falling away from him somewhat. As they came closer, Optimus' speed seemed to increase and, to Jon's surprise, he thought he saw a missile rack open above the Autobot commander's cab. He hadn't thought the supreme commander had that - perhaps it was a feature that he rarely used - but he had no time to let his surprise turn to horror when the Autobot commander fired his arsenal on the station and fuel stop.

After being on the force for fifteen years, Jon Hancock's career - and life - came to an abrupt end. Also suffering as a casualty, the old woman who worked the station had no chance to escape either. Optimus fired three missiles at the fuel station and the pumps exploded immediately. With all the power of a volcano in the devastating chain reaction, the entire stop was blown sky high to the point that the rising flames dwarfed even the most massive of combiners. A sheet of jagged shrapnel was propelled from the detonation and Jon, caught in its path, had no time to react or save himself. The heated metal was slashed across his features and the flesh on the entire right portion of his face was ripped clean off. Dead instantly, the cop's body went into a wild spasm for no more than three seconds before he collapsed to the dusty ground.

Two more missiles, this time aimed for the police station, fired from Optimus' cab and the entire building went up in flames, debris, and dust. The trailer behind the building was violently flipped and the gas burner fastened to the side of it exploded from the violent movement and heat. It exploded with a pop.

The missile compartment on Optimus Prime's cab went down and the cruel, merciless leader gave a cackle of twisted glee as he and the rest of his Autobots sped past the carnage. Prowl was tempted to give a snide, rude comment that the destruction of the fuel station was a terrible waste - they could have used to, after all - but he wisely kept his comments to himself. Dealing with the Prime's viciously cruel tendencies, it would be foolish to question the Autobot tyrant unless you had a death wish or no sense of self preservation. Now that the Autobot fleet had found the location of the emergency beacon, they could get a lock on Thundercracker's coordinates so the blue mech would lead them straight to the rest of the Decepticons. The Aerialbots zoomed overhead - they had woken up to the strange new dimension in a different location before locating the rest of their team - and they moved forward like wolves stalking their prey.

Optimus honked his cab's horn loudly.

There was a new sheriff in town and, unlike the kind leader that his doppelganger was, the only freedom Optimus thought the other sentient beings deserved was the freedom to go up in flames.

**xi**

Optimus and the rest of the Autobots had been on the road ever since Wheeljack finished explaining what had happened with the dimensional transporter malfunction courteous of Sunstreaker's lovely screw up. They had been following the emergency energy beacon when the link suddenly died.

Inside Optimus' cab, Spike looked at the dash with confused eyes seeing the red light there stop flashing. "Hey Optimus, the link just went dead."

Optimus shifted down a gear when they turned onto another road. The long stretch of asphalt that made up the rarely used highway was abandoned of any cars aside from the Autobot fleet. Dust blown across the freeway made ticking noises against Optimus' flank while the Autobot commander tried to relocate the signal. His attempts were useless. "No use. I can't relocate it. Blaster?"

Safe against Carly's lap, the Autobot communications officer beeped twice before letting his alternate-mode's radio dials move back and forth slightly. "I can't find it either, Prime. The beacon just completely flat lined."

"Maybe the emergency beacon charge died," Chip offered. His tone sounded painfully optimistic. "Then again, the wind could have picked up some dust and now it's blocking the signal."

"_Maybe,_" Prowl offered through his radio. "_We still know the coordinates that the signal came from though. We should continue to proceed there._"

"_Negative. Optimus, I have a code one emergency._"

Skyfire's voice was strained with some sort of panic and Spike knew it was a tone none of them wanted to hear. Chip's sometimes aggravating chatter was far more welcome in his personal books. Optimus accessed his radio and responded. "Skyfire? What's your status?"

"_Big trouble,_" the shuttle responded with a groan. "_I found our Decepticon bogie. I've confirmed it's Thundercracker, but I also confirmed the identity of the humans he has with him. Carly… her last name wouldn't happen to be Fox, would it?_"

There was silence in the cab. Spike and Chip turned to look at the only female in the cab with wide eyes. Carly slowly nodded after what appeared to be a minor deliberation with herself. "Yeah. Why-?"

_"Whether or not it's a coincidence,"_ Skyfire said in a sober tone, _"the female human inside Thundercracker has the same exact name as you. The other human with her is apparently named Samuel Witwickey and his nickname is Spike. Sound familiar?"_

Everyone on the open frequency was quiet. Wheeljack broke that silence. "_I should have known. Primus… the whiteout brought actual _doppelgangers_ to this dimension._"

"_So… I'm guessing that I'm in more trouble than I already was, right?_" Sunstreaker's unusually timid voice rose over the radio and, in response, Ratchet snarled in an annoyed tone. The yellow bot stayed quiet after that and Sideswipe said nothing in return. The red mech's silence was a signal to his unease.

"_They told me to follow them,_" Skyfire said. "_I have the feeling that they're going to lead me to the rest of the Decepticons. Whether or not these guys are total opposites to the 'Cons that we deal with, I don't want to be the one Autobot facing down a whole fleet of them. I really need backup on this one, Prime._"

"We'll divert from out path and head straight for you Skyfire," Optimus said in just as much of a commanding tone as comforting. "We have your energy signal and we'll come for you. Hold your ground for as long as possible."

"_Thank you sir. Over and out._" Skyfire cut the link and, again, the link went silent.

Jazz piped up over the radio. "_So, uh, Prime, exactly what does it mean when we say we're dealing with Decepticon doppelgangers?_"

"I'm not sure Jazz," Optimus replied to the saboteur.

"That's not what I think we should be concerned about," Chip said with a somewhat strangled tone. Any optimism the wheelchair bound brunette had in his voice was gone.

"I agree with Chip," Wheeljack spoke up. The scientist pulled up beside Optimus and slowed just enough so he could keep pace with the Autobot supreme commander. "If Decepticon doppelgangers came through, ones that are seemingly allied with the humans like we are…" he trailed off.

Ratchet decided to finish what Wheeljack started. "Imagine what _Autobot_ doppelgangers would be like."

Crudely, Bluestreak cursed in Dutch behind them. Though he had not even spoken the swear word correctly, no one bothered to correct him in the tense silence.

**xii**

Dirge looked up from clinging onto Skywarp and, squinting his eyes against the bright sunlight, he made out Thundercracker's blue form before he heard his roaring turbines. "Starscream! Look!"

Though he had called for Starscream, everyone looked up instantly to see the familiar form of their blue plated comrade speeding towards them. Against the near cloudless blue of the sky though, it was easy for all of them to make out the also all too familiar form of Skyfire in pursuit.

Megatron cursed softly. "It wasn't as if today could get any worse."

Starscream looked down at his bonded and sent a wave of reassurance through their bond. "He hasn't tried to shoot Thundercracker down yet though. I've known Skyfire before I joined the Decepticon army and he's one of the most vicious warriors I know. If he's not trying to shoot Thundercracker down, it only adds onto Carly's alternate reality theory."

"That makes sense," Chip piped up from being held by Swindle. The blonde human was fiddling with a first aid kit that Hook carried with him in case one of their human allies - or any they met along the way - were ever hurt. The human was getting a vat of alcohol ready and bandaging to patch up Spike's leg until they could get him to a hospital. Still, it did not stop the human from whining in mild aggravation. "Oh dammit, I wish Astrotrain was here. He'd be able to fly us all out of here."

Whereas the Decepticons found themselves in the desert, not all of them were accounted for. Longhaul had brought up the theory himself, but everyone in the recreational room had ended up in the same place in the desert while Starscream and Megatron were in an entirely different area. As the theory went, all the Decepticons ended up in different places depending on how far away from one another they were. Astrotrain and Blitzwing had been somewhere else in the base while the rest of the Decepticons were sill running patrols outside the _Nemesis_. Because of that, only unless the whiteout affected them, it meant they were in a separate area. Trying to hail any of their other allies like Astrotrain - a warrior who had enough subspace room to transport them out of the desert - was still proving fruitless due to all the sand and gravel in everyone's systems.

Dirge tried to straighten Skywarp's still prone body between him and Thrust. The blue conehead grunted and bit his lower lip watching Skyfire begin to circle the airspace above. "I wish so too, Chip."

Thundercracker dropped altitude and slowed in mid air before landing. Sand, gravel, and dirt was kicked up and all the Decepticons had to either turn away or shield their optics from the sand whipping up from the gust generated.

The Seeker let his cockpit hatch open and Carly stood. "Chip! We need the first aid kit!"

Spike, still propped up with his leg resting on the side of Thundercracker's console, wearily looked up. "So, it's not everyday you get shot in the foot right?"

Chip muttered a curse and looked up at Swindle. "Put me down. Someone get him out of there!"

Swindle set Chip down wordlessly and the blonde immediately wheeled himself towards Thundercracker. Soundwave immediately assisted getting Spike out of the cockpit while Carly climbed out on her own. The entire inside of Thundercracker's passenger pit radiated the heavy stench of copper and there were patches all over coated with dark, congealed blood. In regards to the Seeker's wellbeing, it was definitely something that was uncomfortable for him. Jumping onto Thundercracker's wing before dropping to the ground with all the grace of Ravage, she looked up with a great deal of concern. "He was bleeding all over the place. He lost a lot of blood but I compressed it as much as I could. It looks like it clotted okay."

"He still needs to go to a hospital," Frenzy intoned running over. Rumble was on his heel and the both of them took Spike from their creator when Soundwave handed the surfer tanned blonde over to them. Both cassette twins supported the teen between them before setting him on the ground.

Spike, through the pain he still had to endure, growled in as much of a joking manner as he could. "If you two drop me, I'll personally have Ravage scrap you."

"Big talk for a hurt organic," Rumble tried to snigger back. He tried his best to smirk but the look that shone behind his visor said otherwise about his mood. He was seriously worried.

Both twins set Spike on the ground and Chip handed the alcohol bottle off to Frenzy. "Take the compress off his leg and pour this over the wound. There's probably sand in it from when he was running back to Thundercracker, so it's vital we clean it so it doesn't become infected. This'll hurt like hell Spike, so you might want to brace yourself."

"I was _shot,"_ the teen snapped back. He hadn't meant to snap but, honestly, it bothered him that the others were hovering over him like he was going to drop dead at any second. "I think I can-"

His tirade was cut off when he Frenzy removed the crude bandaging from around Spike's foot. Without preamble, he poured the alcohol over the blood blistering wound and Spike shrieked like he was stabbed. The teen jerked in place and Rumble quickly help him down. Trying not to hurt the human, the purple cassetteticon bit his lip and tried to keep from panicking. His hands trembled somewhat while he held the human down.

Thundercracker transformed and stood to his full height with a groan. Glass crackled inside his engine and I made a grinding noise inside his chest that was just as uncomfortable as the dirt crackling in his joints. "It's a miracle that I didn't drop out of the sky. I'm definitely not going to be able to take off again." He looked over at Megatron and Starscream with guilty optics. "All this is my fault. Because of me, Spike is hurt."

"You did the best you could," Megatron tried to console. The commander tried to straighten to his full height against his mate. Starscream kept by his side not daring to let go but, regardless, Megatron managed to make himself look somewhat more dignified. He reached an ebony hand out to place it on the blue Seeker's shoulders. "At least we have a better understanding on what's going on."

"But I lead an Autobot to us."

"It would have happened sooner or later anyways."

"I'll have to agree with Thundercracker's worrying on this one," Starscream said looking skyward. Skyfire was still circling, though there wasn't an indication he was going to swoop in for a random attack anytime soon. Still, it obviously left Starscream somewhat bothered. "The timing couldn't have been any worse."

Thundercracker suddenly doubled over.

Everyone snapped their heads around to face the blue Seeker when his leg suddenly gave out. There was a scraping sound from deep inside the Seeker's chest and he was suddenly on one knee. Megatron's optics widened fearfully. "_Thundercracker!_"

It did not seem apparent that the air warrior could answer. Instead, his whole upper torso jerked and he let a muted, strangled noise issue forth before he fell forward. Catching himself on his forearm, he shuddered all over and was on his side before Hook and Mixmaster could skid to a stop beside him. The rest of the Constructions followed shortly afterward.

"Jesus, _what happened!"_ Carly ran over and tried to look past Bonecrusher's leg.

Thundercracker wheezed. "Glass. It… it feels like it got lodged in my engine…"

Hook cursed. "He must have punctured a fuel line. I can't be certain unless we get him back to the _Nemesis_ for repairs."

Megatron cursed. "Dammit!"

Ramjet suddenly pushed past everyone and he spoke up. "Guys! We might have bigger problems! Look!" He pointed upwards.

Everyone - save for Thundercracker, the still unconscious Skywarp, and the cassette twins while then tried to keep Spike on the ground - followed his sight to see Skyfire suddenly pivot to the right and fly over a sweeping hill. He swooped down, transformed, and watched the Decepticons before he turned and looked at someone. From over the hill, the familiar form of Optimus Prime walked up to stand beside him. Behind the Autobot commander were the other Autobots and, surprisingly enough, the shape of three humans appeared as well. Zooming in on the humans in particular…

Soundwave made a low, punctuated sound. "Observation: Chip, Carly, and Spike."

Carly looked up at him with wide eyes. "Wh-_what!" _

Then there was another sound. Car engines roared behind them and all the Decepticons turned sharply to see, to their even greater horror, a _second_ group of Autobots. Optimus' hulking form suddenly transformed and the Autobots fell in line behind their crimson eyed leader.

Then, to further their surprise, an entire squadron of Decepticons suddenly flew overhead. Landing a good distance between the two Autobot groups stood a second Megatron.

**xiii**

When all four teams crossed roads, nothing had changed much visibly. For the first three seconds anyways.

…And three seconds passed much faster than anyone could have anticipated. After all, three seconds passes relatively quickly when you realize you're seeing two identical copies of your enemy faction and a mirror image of your own.

Sunstreaker - sporting a pair of baby blue optics - pointed an accusing finger towards the red eyed Decepticons. "Decepticons!"

A scarlet eyed Scavenger looked up in the direction of the outburst's direction. His optics flashed and he aimed his blaster in the sunshine colored Autobot's direction. "Autobots!"

Starscream - a version with azure optics - blinked at the red eyed Decepticons on the other side of the field. "_Decepticons!_"

At this point, a red eyed Megatron looked in the direction of his blue optical counter part and let his optics flare with surprise. "Decepticons!"

A crimson eyed Bluestreak glared in the direction of the Autobots opposite of them, ignoring the surprised looks going about the area. "_Autobots!_"

A very confused looking Jazz rubbed the back of his head, blue optics dimming and brightening in a sort of confused blink. No one could blame him of course. "Okay, _what now?_"

Howling, a crimson eyed Optimus Prime and threw his hands into the air with a demonic shout. "For the love of-_JUST KILL THEM ALL!_"


End file.
